When Luffy Went a Little too Far
by Ssus
Summary: And the others did too. A story of how angry words can end up creating a whole lot of hurt and regret and turn into something they will never forget.
1. Chapter 1 - Had Enough

**When Luffy Went A Little Too Far – Chapter 1**

**This is something I've had in mind for a long time. It's my try at exploring the friendship between the Straw Hats and Luffy and what happens when a little mistake becomes something more serious.**

**Anyway, here is the first chapter, I have more already written, so let me know if you want me to keep posting. Hope you enjoy it. :)**

**Warnings: None for this chapter.**

**And I am still continuing to name my chapters after songs. Music is my greatest inspiration from getting through every day to coming up with epic adventures. So here:**

**"Inside I'm barely holding on  
There's something that's already gone  
Inside of me the world is in this all alone"  
-Had Enough, Lifehouse**

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**Chapter 1 – Had Enough**

Even though the skies were clear and the sea was calm, the pirate ship Thousand Sunny was filled with a gloomy silence. Everyone on board was exhausted, each crew member lying sprawled out on the deck, each in their own corner. The scene was quite comical, actually.

Nami, Usopp and Chopper were huddled in a pile on the higher deck, still trembling from the adrenaline rush caused by their previous encounter, Usopp trying to convince them that it had all just been a dream. ("Really?! Whooh, that's great..." Sighed Chopper).

Franky was trying to fix his hair, tiredly pushing his nose to change the do which was flatly falling on his forehead, looking far from its usual awesomeness.

"This is so not suuuuupaaa..." His voice trailed off into unrecognizable mumbling.

Zoro and Robin were both sitting on some wayward barrels that had rolled across the deck and fallen over, both of them wishing their pride would allow them to lay on the floor in an ungraceful heap like the others.

Brook looked like an old pile of bones next to the main mast, laughing tiredly: "Yohoho...ho...ho."

Sanji was barely holding himself up, leaning on the railing and lazily holding a burned out, wet cigarette between his lips, too tired to get a new dry one even though he really needed one right now.

One might wonder what on earth had made the usually loud and happy crew so worn out. The answer is quite simple. They had sailed straight into one of the New World's worst storms. Not only was it strong and wild, and completely bizarre with its never ending lightning and 50 foot waves, but it had lasted longer than any they'd experienced before. All through the day and long till the next morning they had all fought to keep Sunny from capsizing, trying to hold all the loose items at bay while maintaining the course at the same time. All in all, every single one of them were at the end of their line, and none of them had any energy or patience left at all.

All except for one. The captain of the ship, Monkey D. Luffy had come down with a fever just few days prior. This had shocked them all, their brighter than sunshine captain was never sick! But something had brought him down, and even Chopper couldn't quite explain how or when. It wasn't serious, seemingly just a common cold, but it had them all worried because this was the never-ending ball of energy called Luffy that was moaning and whining in the covers of the bed, too tired to do much more.

And so they had all been on edge with worry, not really sleeping and doing their best to take care of their dear captain. Due to the illness, Chopper had prohibited Luffy from getting out of bed, especially during the storm, and therefore he had been sound asleep throughout the whole ordeal.

Or so they all thought.

In reality, he had still been suffering from a high fever that had forced the raven into an uneasy sleep, haunted by nightmares he hadn't had in a while. Nightmares of brothers that were no longer there, of gunshots and blood filled battlefields and of fears of losing his dear nakama.

The nightmares never really stopped, he still had them almost every night. He didn't think they would ever truly go away. But in time they had faded, lost their colors and details, become more of a blur of sound and movement. He never mentioned any of this to his friends, not wanting to worry them. It was all in the past now, and he was doing his best to focus on the present. And in the end, it was his burden to carry, not theirs. He was the captain, and therefore it was his job to stay strong.

But every now and then he found himself wanting to reach out to one of them. It was moments like this one, when the nightmares had been too vivid and real to bare. He had caught himself a few times, hand already out to grasp one his nakama for support, changing his mind at the last minute and come up with an excuse for his actions. Instead of telling them what was going on, he would just become a bit more clingy than usual. He knew they had noticed the change. They would give him an odd look when he would suddenly come up and hug them for no reason, or huff in exasperation when he decided to crawl in one of their beds in the middle of the night. They would roll their eyes, but none of them ever denied him. And he was thankful for that, because he needed it. It seemed simple, but it was important to him. Every little touch assured him that he wasn't alone.

And so when he woke up after this particularly horrific nightmare, all he wanted to do was go up and spend some time with his crew, make sure they really were there, back together and everyone was okay. His eagerness was only fueled by the fact that he had been lying in bed for three days, all the while being incredibly bored. That is why he was now running to the deck, waving his arms in excitement.

"Hey everybody! Is it breakfast time yet Sanji! Is it? I'm huuuungryyy! Usopp, Chopper, can we play? I came up with a new game! Oh, hey Brook can you play something? I feel like having a party, can we?!"

He was jumping up and down around the grassy deck from one crewmate to another, his face nearly splitting with a grin that made the sun look awfully pale in comparison.

But this is where everything went wrong. Luffy's eagerness and the rest of the crew's exhaustion were like two storm clouds colliding, making thunder boom with a crash of lightning.

Nami, who was ill tempered even on her nicest of days, was the first to snap.

"A party? You wanna have a party?!"

Luffy's smile faltered a little, even he wasn't dense enough to not realize when the navigator was truly angry. He watched warily as the girl got up from the pile of tangled limbs and practically flew down the stairs to where Luffy was standing. The poor captain had to take a step back when Nami grasped the collar of his vest in an unyielding grip and got up to his face.

"You may be naive and care free all the damn time, but enough is enough! A party!? No, we can NOT have a party!"

Luffy tried to laugh it off, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"I just thought it might cheer you guys up, since you look like you're feeling a little down..." the rest of his sentence was drowned out by Nami's ear splitting screech.

"A little down?! You have got to be kidding me! I honestly didn't think even you could be this dumb! Do you realize that while you were happily snoozing off downstairs, we were fighting for our freaking lives up here!? What kind of captain does it make you when all you're good for is staying out of the way?"

At this point even Nami was aware that she was crossing a line, but she was tired beyond comprehension and wasn't thinking straight.

"You know, now that I think about it, there is one thing that would cheer me up. Why don't you for once make yourself useful, and just disappear somewhere so we can do our jobs!"

Then she dashed off, heading up to make sure they were still on course, completely missing the hurt that was so clearly shining in the raven's onyx eyes.

Luffy was shocked. He knew he wasn't good at… well, anything really, but that's what he had his nakama for. However, now he was realizing that maybe he was relying on them a little too much. What did he ever do for them but made their jobs just that much harder? Always running around, destroying things, bothering them when they tried to concentrate and eating food that wasn't his to eat.

But the way Nami just said it seemed a little unfair even to him. It wasn't like he was lazily sleeping away while the others were in danger. He had much rather been there with them to make sure everyone was okay. But Chopper had told him not to get out of bed, right? Even Nami had reminded him to rest and then proceeded to threaten him with a 10,000 beli debt for making her worry.

So he put himself back together and shook it off as Nami just being tired and grumpy, and turned to face the rest of the Straw Hats, the smile back on his face.

"Shishishi... seems like I made Nami a little angry. Maybe food would make her feel better! It always helps me! Sanji, can I help you with breakfast!?" He shot a hopeful look in the cook's direction, his stomach giving a low rumble from lack of proper meals. Being sick had also meant that he didn't feel like eating, and during the past three days he'd only had a third of what he would've normally eaten. Unfortunately Luffy wasn't in luck, and the cook had had it too.

"Nami-san is right. The only way you can help right now is just let us be. And you can go and get your own damn breakfast when we get to the next island, shouldn't be too long. I'm not letting you anywhere near my kitchen, you'd only be in the way anyway. Or better yet, eat everything before anyone else got even a single bite." The blonde flicked his cigarette into the ocean and left to see how much damage the storm had done in the kitchen.

The smile on Luffy's face was now gone, and he looked at his remaining comrades. One by one they all shuffled off to do what they had to before finally being able to rest, silently agreeing with the cook and navigator.

Once he was the only one left on the deck, Luffy let his walls come down. Every insecurity and fear he had ever had had practically just been thrown in his face. He remembered the panic from last night's nightmare, watching as his nakama disappeared one after another. Then he thought of the two years when they had all been separated and how much stronger everyone had gotten. Maybe he was just holding them all back? Maybe they would've been better off without him. After all, all he could do was fight, but if he wasn't good enough to save even one nakama, good enough to save even one brother... then what was he good for?

Body trembling and eyes shining with unshed tears, the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates fell on his knees. He grasped the rim of his hat, trying to pull it further down to hide his face like he'd done when he was a child. Only now it was too small for that, not covering more than his eyes, but that was enough. He sat there, down on his knees, breathing heavily and trying to keep himself from falling apart.

This wasn't him, not anymore. He had trained for two years, every single day he'd worked, never stopping, barely sleeping, and here he was, the same crybaby as always, unable to help or save anyone.

"An island ahead!" Came a cry from the crow's nest, and Luffy shot up like he'd been electrocuted. He looked to his right where he could see an island in the distance and made a decision.

He would show them. He would prove them that he could be better, prove that he could be of use. With his newfound goal in mind, he went inside to grab a few things that he would need, careful not to run into any of his crewmates in fear of setting them off again.

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**That was it. Tell me if you're interested in the next chapter. ^-^**

**-Suss**


	2. Chapter 2 - Far from Home

**When Luffy Went A Little Too Far – Chapter 2**

**Oh wow! I was not expecting such a positive response at all. :o Thank you all! Though now I'm nervous I won't be able to live up to expectations and I wanna hide under my bed! ('._.') Oh well, this story is pretty much half way written already, so I guess there is no going back now. I do appreciate some criticism too! Can't get better with only praises. ^-^**

**Special thanks to the reviews I got, they made me smile like an idiot. :D**

**Buuuuuut, since it seemed you were all very much excited to read more (and asked nicely), I'm posting the second chapter already! Yeey! Hope you like it, things get a bit more serious here.**

**Oh, and I've forgotten to mention that OP does not belong to me!**

**Warnings: Just some swearing… for now…**

**Song for this chapter:**

**"The faces of people I'll never see again  
And I can't seem to find my way home"  
-Far from home, Five Finger Death Punch**

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**Chapter 2 – Far from Home**

On Sunny, the next day...

Robin had never really slept much, let alone well. Because of her past she had learned to sleep with one eye open at all times. It wasn't until she joined the Straw Hats that she was able to feel safe enough to let herself sleep soundly, knowing she had someone to have her back. It was a wonderful feeling, a simple necessity she had been denied of most of her life, but now she had it, and she was grateful for it.

However, she had never been able to change the habit of sleeping only a few hours every night, which is why she was very surprised to wake up only to find out she had slept through a whole day and a half. It was early morning judging by the faint light she could see in the horizon through the women's quarter's window. The storm had really taken a toll on her.

She stretched her hands above her head, glancing to her right where the ship's navigator was still deep asleep. Smiling fondly at her fellow crewmate, she got up and dressed quickly. Despite being well rested and relaxed, she had an uneasy feeling in the pit of stomach she couldn't quite explain.

Walking towards the kitchen she could smell the freshly brewed coffee she had gotten used to. It had become a routine at some point, and she was more than happy to find out that the two years apart had not broken the habit.

Every morning the first one up would be Sanji who would get ready to prepare breakfast. In the beginning Robin had been a little surprised by this, because she always woke up very early, used to being the first one awake. She had also felt a little weary, not in the mood for the cook's silly flirting so early in the morning. But as it turned out, when it was just her and the blonde, he was actually great company. He would make her coffee and they would chat while he prepared breakfast.

Thanks to these mornings they had developed a strong friendship. Not that they weren't friends otherwise, but talking seriously about things really made people closer. Robin was one of the oldest people in the crew, and as much as she enjoyed being a motherly figure to the boys, she really needed these grown up talks she could have with Sanji.

It wasn't anything too special, very simple really. They would talk about Sanji's meal plans for the day, about the next island they were supposed arrive on or their captain's shenanigans from the previous day. But in all of its simpleness, they both treasured these moments.

"Good morning, Cook-san." Robin said with a smile as she sat down by the table.

Sanji walked over with the usual cup of steaming coffee, black with sugar.

"Always so polite. You know you could call me by my name. Here, there's some leftover croissants from the other day. I tried to butter them well to make them less dry."

The woman just smiled thankfully and ignored his request. By now her polite way of addressing her crew had become more like friendly nicknames and she planned on keeping it that way.

"I hope you slept well. I don't think we've ever been that tired all at the same time. Even I woke up only an hour ago." The blonde was turning on the burners and setting pans and pots on them before returning to prepare the rest of the needed ingredients.

"Indeed. I don't think I've gotten a good night's sleep like this in years." After this they fell into a comfortable silence as Sanji kept on making breakfast and Robin let her gaze wander out the window, watching the Eastern sky become brighter and brighter.

Her thoughts wandered to the storm and the aftermath. It had taken them quite a while to clean the mess it had created. Sanji had needed help in the kitchen where silverware and broken dishes were covering the floor. It was not often they ran into a storm bad enough to do that much damage, especially after Sanji had made sure everything was secured in place.

She remembered helping a frustrated Nami gather her maps and journals. Robin would've used her power to get the job done faster, but all the seawater that had splashed on to the deck had made her already exhausted body very weak. She remembered Nami muttering about their reckless captain and how he didn't know how to be serious.

Here the uneasy feeling in her stomach spiked. Luffy… She thought back to when the happy captain had bounced to the deck, asking to have a party.

Robin had learned to know the younger raven quite well during their time together. The first impression people often had of Monkey D. Luffy was that he was confusing and hard to understand. After knowing him for a while one would learn he was actually very simple and predictable. He seemed to have a one tracked mind; food, sleep and playing, almost like a child.

But if you really, really knew him, you started to see the deeper side of him. How his fists would twist ever so slightly when anyone would badmouth one of his nakama, how he would try to avoid unnecessary fighting even though usually it seemed he was always the first one to head straight to battle without a second thought. There was the way his eyes shone with longing as he stared out to the sea and when he thought no one was looking. Every now and then he would say something that sounded rude or childish, but was in fact wise in a very simple and truthful way that some had trouble understanding.

And his latest habit of placing his hand on top the X-shaped scar on his chest whenever one of them mentioned anything that happened before the War of the Greatest. He thought they didn't notice, but they did, all of them.

In fact, they noticed a lot more than he thought. He didn't think they knew about the severity of his nightmares, but the way he sometimes cried in his sleep would carry all the way to the women's quarters and keep them all awake, filling their nights with pain and regret. The way he would sometimes crawl in somebody else's hammock in the middle of the night in search of comfort. Sanji had told Robin about it the first time the captain had chosen the blonde's hammock as his safe place. It was mostly Zoro he went to, but every now and then he would come to the others too.

Robin had been very sad to hear this. She had noticed how much more physical contact the young captain seemed to need these days. He would come to her much more often than he had before to ask if she would read to him, and instead of sitting across from her or lying on the floor like he used to, he would sit next to her and slowly lower his head to lean on her shoulder or lay on her lap. She didn't mind. She would only thread her fingers through his black locks and keep on reading, happy to give her captain any form of comfort and support she could.

She remembered a time they had been shopping in one of the many towns they stopped at, and Luffy had suddenly jumped on the green haired swordsman's back, refusing to let go and riding there all the way back to Sunny.

Or another time when he asked Chopper to hold his hand as they sat fishing on Sunny's railing.

All in all, he had become very clingy, but none of them minded. They all loved their captain dearly, and would never deny him comfort when he needed it. Except that they had, just the day before.

Now Robin finally realized why she was feeling such uneasiness. She went through the scene in her mind. How Luffy had bounced to the deck, obviously just woken up judging by his messy hair and the sleepy look in his eyes. He had been waving his arms every which way, seemingly excited, but in reality hiding the fact that they were shaking. He must have woken up from yet another nightmare. They had gotten worse again while he was sick, making the crew worry even more than they already had been. And then he had started to ask them all to do things with him, just like he did when he needed comfort. And they had denied it.

Her blue eyes widened in horror as she remembered how she and everyone else had let Nami scream at the poor boy who had no idea how bad the storm had been and how tired they all were. Robin remembered agreeing with Nami as she yelled; "Why don't you for once make yourself useful and just disappear somewhere so we can do our jobs!" Damn it.

"Sanji!" Robin's voice was clear and sharp as she shot up from her seat, spilling the now cold coffee all over the table. The cook turned around in shock, not just because of the woman's alarming tone, but also surprised how she had used his name. As he turned he was faced with a frantic looking Robin. He just stared and waited in silence.

"Luffy! Have you seen Luffy?!" Sanji lifted his visible eyebrow in question. It took him a while to get why his friend was asking about their captain. His cigarette fell to the floor as his mouth opened in a silent 'oh'. He remembered now too. Every word the ship's navigator had shot at the helpless boy, and then his own words echoed in his mind as clear as day.

"The only way you can help us right now is just to leave us be."

Shit.

With that they both rushed downstairs and burst into the men's quarters with the loud bang of the door hitting the wall.

"The hell?" came a sleepy complaint from one of the hammocks. Without bothering to explain, Sanji checked every corner of the room as Robin made sure the captain's own hammock was empty. As it became clear he wasn't there, they ran off to search the rest of the ship.

"What on earth was that?" Usopp asked as he sat up and lost his balance in his grogginess, falling out of his hammock and crashing headfirst onto the floor.

"Waah, Usopp! Are you okay!?" Chopper cried as he hopped out of his own bed and helped the sniper up again.

"It seemed to me like they were looking for some- soooooomething." Franky yawned. They all decided to get dressed and go wait in the galley to find out what was going on.

As they arrived, they found a grumpy looking Nami already sitting at the table, nursing a coffee in her hands. She looked up as they entered and scoffed unhappily.

"I see you got the crazy new wakeup call Sanji and Robin have come up with." Usopp had to chuckle at that. It all seemed a bit weird. Not that they didn't often get woken up in a very similar manner, but never by Sanji or Robin. Them running around so frantically, and together nonetheless, was unheard of.

They all helped themselves to some coffee too and then waited in a tired coma, some of them dozing off a little.

In about five minutes the two they were waiting for returned to the galley with worried and guilty looks on their faces. Those looks were enough to wake the rest of the crew up for good.

"What's going on, Robin-san, Sanji-san." Brook asked politely. Both of them sighed deeply before sitting down at the end of the table.

"Well…" Sanji started slowly, lighting up a cigarette and taking a long drag.

"It seems we've made a small mistake. No, scratch that, a big one, actually." Seeing the expectant looks on his fellow crewmates' faces, he went on.

"I'm not pointing any fingers at any of us specifically, we were all there and are just as guilty. But it seems that our idiotic captain took our words a little too literally yesterday." He let them all take a moment to think back to the previous day and the heated exchange of words. As they finally got it, they were all equally shocked, Nami lifting a hand to cover her mouth like she was trying to stop the words from coming out. Only it was too late, they had already been said. Robin took over and explained the current problem.

"We've looked everywhere and captain-san is definitely not on the ship. We did, however, find some other things missing as well. It appears he has taken some money and the shopping list we wrote down for restocking."

Usopp looked at Robin with an exasperated look.

"You mean to tell us Luffy's gone shopping? Excuse me for not seeing how that's a problem. Shouldn't we be glad he's taking responsibility for once and doing some chores?" Chopper, Franky and Brook all nodded at this, also failing to see what the big deal was. Zoro and Nami, however, seemed to understand exactly what was wrong. Zoro had squeezed his eye shut and Nami was opening and closing her mouth like she was trying to say something, but not a word came out.

"Well, let's start with the fact that Luffy has been gone much longer than a simple shopping tip should take, supposing he left yesterday afternoon as we docked."

Usopp was still refusing to see the warning signs even though they were right there, plain in sight. He didn't want to believe that Luffy could be in any kind of danger.

"He probably just got lost and decided to sleep somewhere. He'll come through that door any minute now." Chopper was looking at Usopp hopefully, wanting to believe his words to be true.

"That might be the case on any other day, we all know Luffy isn't known for his sense of direction that rivals the moss head's…" Robin gave Sanji a stern look here, warning him now wasn't the time. Sanji cleared his throat and continued.

"Like I was saying, if it weren't for the rest of the evidence, that might've been what happened. But as I remember, we pretty much told him that he was good for nothing and that he should beat it." At Sanji's ruthless words they all felt the guilt settle in like a thousand knives. How could they?

"Our best guess is that he wanted to prove he could be of help, and headed to town to restock," Robin continued explaining, "But seeing as he was still sick…" Here Chopper shrieked something about forgetting to check on him and then the little reindeer burst into tears.

"…and he hadn't eaten well in a few days, there is a reason to be worried. We all know how quickly he weakens when hungry." At this point Sanji nearly bit his cigarette in half, cursing himself to hell. He had went against everything he believed in and refused someone food. And not just anyone, but his captain.

"Adding all this to the fact that he hasn't returned yet, we can only assume that something happened to him." Robin finished with a forlorn look. How could they let it come to this?

For the first time since waking up, the first mate of the ship spoke up.

"We have failed and betrayed our captain when he was weak and needed us. And don't think anything less, any guilt you're feeling is well deserved." He let his gaze wander around the table, inspecting the painful looks on his comrades faces. He himself felt like he was going to split in two with worry, and was overcome with an unbearable need to see the smiling face of his leader right now to make sure he was okay.

"We're going to eat breakfast because we're no use to anyone if we pass out on the street. Then we'll separate into groups and turn this town inside-out if we have to, but we are not resting until we have Luffy back here with us. And then-" He raised his voice with the last two words, emphasizing the importance of what he was about to say.

"-Then we're making sure that that idiot understands that we didn't really mean any of what we said yesterday. Any of it. We'll sit here all week if we have to, we will make sure he will never again think we don't want him around. Is that clear!?" He dared them to say otherwise with a feral glare that would've scared anyone into oblivion. It wasn't often any of them used any sort of authority on each other. It wasn't even very often Luffy would use his position as captain to give them orders, it just wasn't how they worked. But it was even rarer that Zoro would stand up to his place as Luffy's first mate and give out orders. So when he did, they listened.

They all nodded quietly in agreement and went on to hurriedly eat their breakfast.

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Somewhere in town, the day before...

Luffy was slowly making his way through the busy streets of this particular town. It was just starting to dawn on him that maybe he should've taken a map with him, because he had no idea where he was going. Then again, a map wouldn't really do him any good considering he didn't even know how to read one.

He sighed at this thought. Yet another thing he couldn't do. But he had decided he would do this for his friends, and he would not give up even if it took him all day. He still felt they had been a bit unfair, but if it was a responsible captain they needed, then it was a responsible captain they'd get.

As his mind began to wander, he thought back to a faraway place, to the days of running around in the jungle with his two brothers. He remembered fighting with them over the title of captain, none of them willing to give in. Sabo had once told him that a captain was someone who the crew could trust to take care of things and make decisions, to which Ace had commented that he already felt bad for Luffy's future crew because any decision he would make would lead them to sail right off the edge of the world. Ace had always been so mean.

But now as the straw hat thought about it, he couldn't help but agree. He wasn't really fit to make most decisions. He didn't understand the value of money, and therefore couldn't be trusted with any decisions regarding their expenses and where their money went, so he let Nami handle that. If it was up to him, they would all be eating meat every day and most likely get sick at some point from the lack of vitamins and all that, and so Sanji had full power over deciding what they ate. There were other things too, but he knew his crew was more than capable of taking care of it all.

So what if he didn't know how to do any of those things? That didn't make him a bad captain, right? When it came to serious things like fighting someone dangerous or helping someone out, he was always there to make the decision, and he was pretty sure he'd done a good job so far. He'd always made sure pinpoint who their strongest enemy was so he could fight them and keep them away from his nakama. Sure, sometimes he chose to take the dangerous route instead of the easy one and they ended up in a big mess, but he knew his crew was strong and could handle themselves.

In the end, he really was at loss as to what to do. It seemed like during the two years they spent apart his crew mates grew up, and now Luffy's careless ways weren't enough for them anymore. And that's how he ended up here, lost in the middle of a town he didn't even know the name of. He looked at the people around him, not recognizing any of them. He secretly hoped he would suddenly spot a familiar face in the crowd, one that would come to him, take his hand and help him back home, but he shook his head to clear such thoughts away. He was a grown, responsible man, and he could find his way himself.

Deciding that walking around aimlessly wouldn't get him anywhere, the captain looked around for a place to sit down and spotted a dingy looking bar around the next corner. He was getting very hungry and there might be people there he could ask for directions, so he walked in.

The place looked a bit shady, especially since the entrance was on one of the side streets, but Luffy had always been oblivious to these sorts of thing. He was very strong, after all, so he didn't usually have to worry about bandits or other lowlifes like that. But he was underestimating the effects his sickness was having on him, forgetting that he wasn't completely well yet.

Luffy took a seat by the bar and looked at the prices displayed on the menu above the weary looking owner's head. He frowned a little, only now realizing that he hadn't really brought as much money as he had thought. He had been very careful not to take too much, knowing that Nami would get angry. But he hadn't had even the slightest idea of how much everything cost since he had never had to do any shopping.

While Luffy had been busy thinking about the prices he failed to notice the group of men sitting in the corner of the room, staring at him intently.

"I could be wrong, but I could swear that the boy sitting at the bar is Straw Hat Luffy." One of the men whispered to the others. They all nodded in agreement as the one who was most likely the leader of the group took a good look at said boy. The man in question was very well known in this town, though not in a good way. He and his men were notorious slave traders and pretty much had everyone around here eating from their hands as they feared being sold off themselves. And so the bartender just let them do as they pleased, even though he felt sorry for all the young men and women that disappeared right after leaving his bar.

The leader, Genzo, as they called him, was studying Luffy with his expert eyes he had honed to perfection during his years in this business. If you wanted to succeed, you had to know what you were looking for. Even if this young man wasn't the rather famous pirate, it looked as though they might still get good money for him all the same. Genzo let his eyes follow the slender form and smooth skin of his soon to be latest victim, taking in the defined muscles and small waist. With a grin, he stood up.

"Let's find out, shall we? If he is indeed one of the supernova rookies, we're in for a fortune. Just imagine the money we'd make with the notorious son of Dragon." His fellow men suddenly had a dreamy gleam in their eyes, but one of them still looked doubtful.

"But boss, Straw Hat has a 400,000,000 beli bounty on his head. There is no way we'll be able to take him on!" The boss just laughed at that and proceeded to seat himself on the stool next to the straw-hatted boy.

His men weren't quite as experienced as he was in these things. Genzo had learned to study people to make sure he knew exactly how to deceive someone or how to squeeze more money from another. This particular boy was staring at the menu with a frown on his face and flush on his cheeks. It almost looked like he was a little dizzy. Assuming this meant that the boy was exhausted and most likely lost, he decided on a strategy and he leaned in to start a conversation.

"You seem troubled. Maybe I can help you with something?" Most people would've left in a heartbeat, he knew his words were more than suspicious. But once again his instincts were right, and the oblivious boy just smiled and explained how he had never known how everything was so expensive. He then proceeded to tell him he was trying to do a favor for his friends who were resting back on their ship and the he got lost and_ blaah blaah blaah_. Genzo had heard enough.

_Idiot,_ he thought as he went on and offered to buy the boy a drink. The other's eyes lit up in grateful excitement and he gladly accepted. Genzo gave the bartender a meaningful look, and the old man handed the drink to him first. Here the man took his opportunity, shuffling around with the drink before handing it over to the raven. Luffy just smiled and happily drank it all, thinking of how lucky he was to have run into this friendly man. Had he been more lucid, he would've seen the predatory gleam in the other's eyes right away. He was, after all, pretty good at judging people. But his fever had once again peaked and hunger was clouding his mind, and so he proceeded to make one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

**o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o**

**Uh-oh, Luffy's in trouble now. O.O**

**Next chapter we find out what happens to the poor captain! I feel bad for him, really, he's all confused and alone. But I really enjoy flipping the roles and making it so that the rest of the crew is helping him out, not the other way around. That's all I can say without spoiling it. Till' next time! ^-^**

**P.S I've written a few one shots related to some of the moments mentioned in this and the previous chapter too. One about the first time Luffy went to Sanji for comfort, another about how Robin and Sanji started their morning chats. Oh, and I have one of Luffy becoming sick and the crew's reactions. Tell me if you want to read them, I'd be happy to post them. Also, if there is any other moments I refer to that you'd like to read about in more detail, let me know and I'll work on it. :)**

**Thank you for your time, and also for any reviews and favorites. They make my day. ^-^**

**-Ssus**


	3. Chapter 3 - Undying Love

**When Luffy Went a Little too Far – Chapter 3**

**Another update. Not a very long one this time, but it's important that this is separate from everything else. And FYI, I decided I would update once a week, on Sundays. This way I can give myself time to keep writing without catching up on myself.**

**Also I got some awesome reviews again, and I wanted to answer them, so I put a little section at the end where I can do that. You can either go read those first or just go on with the chapter. ;) **

**As for the name of this chapter, I it borrowed it from the song 'Undying Love' by Two Steps from Hell. No lyrics in that one, it just has that desperate sound of finding your loved ones in a world of confusion, which fits this chapter.**

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**Chapter 3 – Undying Love**

Luffy was happily gulping down the drink this nice stranger had bought him. He was very lucky, this didn't look like the kind of place were nice people came to, now that the thought about it. But he was hungry and dizzy, so he didn't care. Also, this way Nami wouldn't get mad at him for wasting money on unnecessary things like his 'bottomless pit of a stomach' as she put it.

Now that he was all done with the drink he wondered if it would be awfully rude to ask for something to eat too. But at the thought of food his stomach did one of those painful flips it had been doing ever since he got sick. He groaned out loud, feeling nauseous now. He tried to lift his hand to his mouth in an all too familiar reaction to the burning feeling in the back of his throat, but all of a sudden his body felt heavy and his movements were a bit off, and all he succeeded in doing was smacking his hand on the counter.

Luffy was somewhat aware that the man next to him was saying something, but his hearing was refusing to work too. All he heard was distant echoes and as he looked up, his vision turned and twisted the man's face so it looked like something out of a nightmare. Luffy found this unnerving and as he felt himself starting to fall of his stool, he decided he needed Chopper.

And so he thanked the stranger for the drink, (or at least tried to, he wasn't sure what the slurred words that he managed to get out sounded like) and staggered unsteadily towards the door. When he finally reached it (it had felt like forever, because the door kept moving from side to side and refused to stay still), he leaned on it a little too hard and stumbled out onto the street, falling over and scraping his palms and knees painfully. He cried out at this, wondering why such little scratches hurt so badly, he'd definitely had far worse than this before. The need to see Chopper right about now became more and more urgent as he searched for the wall to help himself stay vertical.

Just as he found a surface to press his palm on, there were suddenly strong hands holding him up. They had a firm grip on him, but the touch wasn't familiar. Luffy wanted to push the person away, but didn't have the strength to.

He thought he heard something about helping him along and tried to protest, but his mouth didn't work at all anymore, and so all he could do was let himself be dragged further down the street.

He frowned at this. Why were they going this way? To get out you had to go back to the main street, even he knew that much. But then they turned to an empty alley and it started to dawn on him that he might be in trouble.

That's when the grip under his arms changed from firm to painful. He felt himself being pushed against a hard surface, most likely the wall. His wrists were held above his head and someone took his chin in a bruising grip. Why did it hurt so much, he was rubber, it wasn't supposed to hurt.

Whoever was holding him had the same kind of rough and calloused hands as Zoro. Except the swordsman had never hurt Luffy with his touch. The thought of his green haired friend made him remember Chopper again and the fact that he needed the doctor. Or someone, any one of his friends. He didn't know where he was or what was happening to him, so where was his crew?

Then one of the foreign hands was traveling down his torso and propping his stomach, and he suddenly remembered a time Robin had sat him down for a talk. It was that time when some drunken idiot had tried to hit on Nami and put his hands too far up her tight or something, leaving Luffy to wonder why Nami knocked the guy half to death. He had been so sure he himself had put his hand in Nami's tight plenty of times, and she never tried to kill him. Well, not for that particular reason anyway. Robin had then explained that there was a certain kind of touch that wasn't supposed to happen if the recipient felt uncomfortable with it, and that some touches were meant for only those who you care about.

Right now Luffy felt more than uncomfortable, and he was starting to understand what all that had meant. But then again maybe this wasn't exactly that kind of thing. It was more like the fingers on him were trying to look for something or checking for something. They pushed on his ribs, travelled through his hair and opened his mouth painfully. It was like one of Chopper's checkups, except more rough and way too painful. The tiny reindeer was always gentle and careful, asking for permission before sticking things in people's mouths! Luffy was getting a little angry, though he forgot quickly what for.

He was almost sure he had called out to his nakama out loud at some point, but that didn't do much good. As his vision got more and more blurry, he finally started to struggle. He kicked and he wriggled, pulled on his arms. He was damned if he would let himself be an experiment for this weird doctor. Wait, why was there a doctor again?

Oh well, that didn't matter. All he needed to worry about was getting away. Doing his best to gather his scattered thoughts, Luffy focused all his energy to imagining his nakama who were waiting for him, and with strength he didn't know he still had, he slipped his other wrist free and used that fist to blindly throw a punch somewhere in front of him. He heard a yelp and took off running right away. He needed to get back to the ship. He was feeling more and more disoriented, a prickling pain was running up his legs and taking over his body. Every little pump to the walls or scrape from the ground hurt like hell and he was seriously starting to panic.

Luffy could feel his beloved hat bouncing on his back as he kept on going, his line of sight now filled with a blurry ocean of faces. He was sure he knocked over more than one but he didn't care. As long as he got to his crew, that was all he could think about.

But as he went on, his body started to shut down. He stumbled more and more, tripped over his own feet and ended up on all fours. Slowly he crawled towards an empty space he saw, determined to get away from the stampede of feet that were now painfully kicking him.

Looking around he wasn't sure where he was now, but he was just lucid enough to notice that he wasn't alone. A figure was walking towards him and so he stood up shakily and lifted his fists up to defend himself. He couldn't tell the shadow to back off, but he let out a dangerous growl, hoping that whoever it was would leave him alone.

And then the figure's arm was rising, something glistening in their hand. Before Luffy had time to register what it was, he heard a loud bang, felt unbearable pain and everything went black.

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**In the next chapter we get to follow the rest of the Straw hats as they search for their wayward captain, and hopefully find out what exactly happened here. Also, I know I just said I would update weekly, but since this chapter was extra sort and the next one kind of goes with this, I might update chapter 4 sooner, as long as I check it and make sure I'm happy with it. Till then!**

**Thanks for reading again, hope you're still interested and keep on following. ^-^**

**And since it happens to be mother's day, lots of love for all the mothers out there. I take care of 4 small kids daily, and even though they are not my own, I know exactly how hard and wonderful it is to be a mother and I respect them all. 3**

**-Ssus**

**And then my answers to some of your reviews:**

**Queen Lily Tiger Ellyessa: **What, Luffy tried to take my cookie!? Unacceptable! I might be willing to share for a cup of coffee, though. ^-^

Thank you for your review, I won't take too long to update. ;) And yes, there will be more Franky and Brook too, I've tried to give them all their moments in different chapters and explore their bonds with Luffy. I just have this little problem where I just keep writing and writing once I start thinking about what one of them would feel or think, and the chapters would be unbearably long with just that if I did them all at the same time or all the time. :D

But everybody will get their moments!

**Youngsoul: **Thank you for your kind words! I'm glad you are enjoying this. ^-^ And I will post the one shots at some point, maybe I'll save them for a time when I can't update a new chapter in a while.

**FlightWulf: **Thank you so much for your comments! I had so much fun reading them. It's great to know someone finds these ideas as exciting as I do ^-^ and if you do end up drawing something, you have to let me know, I wanna see! O.O

And darn it! I knew Genzo sounded familiar, but I hear so many Japanese names on a daily basis I didn't think anything of it. I actually am not happy with his name at all, I changed it at least 3 times, if I remember right. Damn him. Maybe I'll come up with a catchy nick name and they can call him that. Suggestions? :D Thanks for pointing that out.

Also the spelling. I wish I had a beta. But my idiotic friends (_I love them, really_) are either not reading One Piece (_what is wrong with them!_?) or are not interested in fan fiction (_yet again, why!?_) OR they are not up to date with the manga and are afraid of getting spoilers from my stories... Why am I friends with these people? So I'll try extra hard to check them myself! And maybe I should apologize to Five Finger Death Punch for misspelling their name. x) Sorry!

**Carraotcakeo5:** Thanks for reviewing. I will try my best to keep my updates weekly, I myself think even a week is too long to wait, with any series, manga chapters or fanfic updates. :D

Oh, and I would love to write a little something about Luffy and Zoro. Poor Zoro has no idea what he's in for! Mwhahahaa… I'm evil.

**Also thanks for all the anonymous reviews, they are appreciated as well! **


	4. Chapter 4 - Time

**When Luffy Went a Little too Far – Chapter 4**

**Somehow I got this out early! It's a miracle, I have been so busy this week. I blame it on (or thank?) the yucky roaches that are back. . I hate them, and they are keeping me up at night now that it's raining and they are coming in. But, it gives me more time to write since I'm not sleeping. :D You decide if that's good or not.**

**Oh well, since you probably didn't come here to hear about my personal life, here's chapter 4!**

**Except that I have completely ignored warnings! For this chapter swearing and mentions of drugs, kidnapping and slave trading.**

**As for the name of this chapter, it comes from the soundtrack of the movie Inception, track 12 – Time. I love that track, in all of its simpleness it is genius. O.O Always gives me the chills.**

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**Chapter 4 – Time**

With the Straw Hat crew

Zoro was getting seriously frustrated. They had been running around this damned town all day and so far there was absolutely no sign of their captain at all. It was a big town, but Luffy never failed to go anywhere without making sure half the world knew he'd been there. Leave it to that idiot to actually succeed in laying low the one time they needed him to make a ruckus.

The swordsman let out an angry growl, startling Usopp who was running right next to him.

"How hard can it be to find someone whose face is known all over the freaking world!?" Zoro shouted out loud, making the sniper cower back a little.

"It is possible that Luffy came up with a disguise. You know how we've been telling him he can't just barge in anywhere without caution anymore, especially here in the New World. Maybe he for once listened and learned? I mean, everyone listens to me, the great Captain Usopp…" Usopp's suggestion was more of a question than a statement, with no real power behind it and he didn't really believe it himself either. Even though Luffy had his smart moments, careful just wasn't in his nature.

Zoro glared at his friend in annoyance knowing very well that Luffy had not thought of wearing any sort of disguise. Just as the first mate was about to suggest they should try to look around the docks again, they heard Nami's voice call for them.

"There you are! Great, now we can all go together." She paused to catch her breath, Zoro and Usopp noticing that all of the other straw hats were right behind her.

"What's up, you found something?" Zoro tried to hide the hopeful edge in his voice as he waited for an answer.

"Yes! Chopper and I were going around, asking people if they'd seen anyone that looked like Luffy and finally someone pointed us towards here, to that very street right there actually." She was pointing a little further off to the right of them at an entrance to a side street.

"It was weird though." Chopper piped in. "There were a lot of people who looked like they might know something, but they just hurried away saying something that sounded like excuses to me. Do you think they were afraid of us?" He was looking at Nami with round eyes, but it was Robin who answered.

"They were afraid, but I don't think it's us they're afraid off. Franky and I had similar experiences with the town's people, they all seem to be more than unwilling to give away any information." The raven haired woman had a dreadful look on her face, like she already knew something they didn't.

"There was even one suuupaaa energetic lady who screamed at us to run for our lives. A per… I mean a weirdo." Franky wasn't even in the mood of posing right now, worry weighting him down.

"Well, I definitely don't like the sound of that. But at least we got something, so let's go and see if there is anything to it." Sanji lit a new cigarette and let the group around the corner to the side street.

Their first thought was _not good!_ As they walked on, taking in the weird little shops that no normal people would ever consider entering. When they came to the entrance of an old looking bar that Nami was pointing at, Sanji let out a sigh.

"Trust the shitty-captain to find the most suspicious looking place in town," he muttered and pushed the door open.

There were only two customers inside, a figure dressed in far too many scarfs in one corner and an old drunk lying on the floor next to the door. Nami let herself shudder in disgust as she followed the others to the counter.

The owner looked at them with caution, his expression telling them he wasn't too happy about having this colorful group in his bar. He had that look of someone who was much younger than one would think, with sharp eyes, grey hair and bags under his eyes.

"Yo," Sanji greeted and sat down on one of the stools. "We're looking for someone and heard that you might be able to help." He went straight to the point, if what Robin had said about people here not wanting to talk was true then beating around the bush would obviously not work. The bartender stopped in his tracks and looked at in annoyance.

"I don't know who you lot lookin' for but you can beat it. I ain't got nothin' for ya." He was about to turn and go to what they assumed was the kitchen behind a dirty curtain, but Sanji wasn't ready to give up yet.

"We're looking for a boy. He would be 19-years-old, a little shorter than I, black hair and a yellow straw hat on his head. Any chance he stopped by?" He was trying to keep his voice even, not wanting to scare the man off.

"Like I told' ya. I've got nothin' you need to know, haven't seen any lads in straw hats today."

The man was just reaching to lift the curtain out of the way and enter the kitchen, when a hand came up, took his collar in a vise grip and lifted him of the ground. Sanji looked at the green haired swords man who was now growling in the man's face, holding something in his other hand.

"You don't know anything, huh? Then you wanna explain to us how our captain's bag ended up on your greasy floor?" The glare he was giving the bartender made the poor man shake in fear. And indeed, in his right hand Zoro was holding one of the crew's many back bags they used on their shopping trips. He threw it at Nami who opened it up and found the shopping list written in her own handwriting. Her fist tightened around the piece of paper as she fixed a hateful glare at the bartender.

"So," Zoro went on. "Let's try this again. You said you haven't seen anyone with a strawhat _today._ What about yesterday?" When the man being questioned hesitated his captor gave him a rough shake, and finally the man faltered, not seeing a way out of this.

"Fine, fine! He was here, yesterday afternoon. Had a drink and left, that's all." Obviously this wasn't the right answer as the man now felt himself being swung even higher in the air before he came crashing down on the counter, splintering it in pieces with the force. Then there was a sharp blade against his throat and all he could see was the green eye of the demon himself.

"One. More. Try." Zoro growled out as he did his best to hold himself back from slicing this old creeper up right then and there.

"If I'm not happy with your answer, you can be sure you're not leaving this place in one piece." To show he was not kidding, he let the sword slip a little and make a tiny cut on the man's exposed neck.

"O-okay. Look, I…" even now the bartender couldn't help but hesitate. Somehow he was caught between a rock and a hard place.

"I have two daughters and a wife, if I tell you I'll be putting them in danger…" He was cut off as a brightly burning foot came crashing down right next to his face, making the splinters fly around. With wide eyes he followed the leg up to look at its owner. It was the blonde man who had talked to him first. His posture seemed cool with his hands in his pockets and shoulders slumped in a relaxed manner, but his one visible eye was promising death.

"You think we give a fuck about your family? We're pirates, we don't feel sorry for scumbags like you."

And now he knew he had absolutely no choice. He could either die here leaving his family to support themselves or he could tell these pirates what he knew and then take his family and run as far as he could from this Kami forsaken island.

"Got it, I- I got it. It was Genzo. Your friend left here with Genzo." To the other straw hats this name meant nothing, but Robin lifted her gaze to look at the man and quickly strode to his side. She motioned for Zoro and Sanji to let the man sit up and after a few more shakes and a warning kick, they backed off. When the man had sat up and caught his breath, Robin found his gaze and held it in hers, not letting him get any ideas that she wouldn't be just as ready kill him as the others if need be.

"Genzo? As in the notorious slave trader?" She asked, her voice calm though her insides were twisting in fear. She had heard that name more than once while residing with the revolutionaries. It was a name that struck fear in many, and one of the top wanted men in the revolutionaries' hit list.

The other Straw Hats looked at her in confusion, then at the man again, hoping to get more information and catch in on what they were talking about.

"Yes, him. This town gets a lot of pirates, it's the only island around this area, so they stop 'ere to restock. Genzo is well known for capturing some seriously high bounties and selling them off to the government or the tenryuubito."

Robin closed her eyes and slowly counted to ten. It would not help anyone to kill this man right now. But she couldn't help it. No matter how much in danger he would be in, she didn't understand how anyone could just watch as a young boy was stripped off his freedom in the most horrible of ways right in front of their eyes. Robin could not imagine Luffy surviving a life of a slave. Her captain had a strong spirit and even stronger will, but without his freedom he was just a kid.

"Yo, Robin-sis, who's this Genzo person?" Franky was not liking that somehow that cursed word "slave" had gotten into the conversation. What happened to Luffy just getting lost or falling asleep somewhere?

Robin sighed and turned to address her friends. This was definitely information she wasn't sharing happily.

"During the two years I stayed with the revolutionaries, I heard a lot about slave trading and other crimes the government is willing to overlook for their own sake. All the most corrupted government people, worst pirates and especially the names of the slave traders, all of them from marines to pirates and civilians mixed in that twisted underworld business. Genzo was the one name that came up most often. He is known all over the world, yet no one knows what he looks like. Well, those who do know won't talk. He's not just notorious for somehow managing to kidnap high bounty pirates and rare creatures, but also for… 'Training' them." Even the usually stoic raven cringed at this, the word leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

"Do… Do we wanna know what that means?" Usopp asked, looking greatly disturbed.

"I'm not exactly sure… But the word goes that no matter how short a time he has his captives, somehow by the time they get to their new… _masters… _they are perfectly trained to behave like a slave would be expected to. Please don't ask me more." With that Robin shook her head, trying to get any unwanted images out of her mind and turned back to the shivering bartender still sitting next to her.

After one more deep breath, Robin asked the man to tell them exactly what happened.

_Flashback_

_The bartender watched as Genzo and his men walked in, gesturing him to bring them their regular drinks. The old man shuddered. He hated it when they came. They would sit there in the corner, and every time the door opened he would fear that this one would be the one they were going to take today. For years he had watched people disappear after leaving his bar, knowing exactly where they had gone: hell. But he had to protect his family, and so he let it happened. _

_He lifted his gaze the moment he heard the door creak and took in the kid that entered. He might not be a slave trader himself, but watching from the side for years he knew what they were looking for and this boy was definitely doomed._

_He closed his eyes as the raven sat down on one of the stools and heard the shuffling as Genzo started to move. _Here we go again, _he thought._

"_You seem troubled. Maybe I can help you with something?" The bar tender cringed. There was no way anyone would fall for something so obvious. But the boy apparently was either extremely dumb or just very trusting, because he just smiled and started explaining his problems away._

_Fool. Unfortunate fool._

_The conversation went on, until he heard the words that meant it was time for him to do his part._

"_Can I buy you a drink?" _Please say no, please say no… oh, well. What is one more, really_?_

_He handed the drink to Genzo and watched with sad eyes as the man slipped a little round pill in it before passing it over to the younger man who happily drank it all._

_It didn't take long, it never did. Soon enough, the straw hatted boy started swaying a bit, his movements uncertain and his eyes unfocused. He looked a bit green and a trace of panic was starting to show on his face. He lifted his arm, but it ended up just knocking the counter._

"_You okay there? You look a little ill. Maybe you should go get some air?" It was Genzo, trying to lure the boy out with a horrendous grin on his face. _Please, Kami forgive me, _the bartender thought as he followed the scene unfold in front of him. It always horrified him to watch the drug, or whatever else Genzo was trying at the time, take effect._

_But there must have been something already wrong with the boy or the drug was affecting him more than it did others, because he was obviously already too gone to understand a word that was being said. Onyx eyes turned to look at Genzo, fear and confusion filling them._

_The bartender thought he heard the boy mutter the name "Chopper" as he almost fell of his stool. Then he got up, mumbling something, and stumbled out of the bar._

"_Alrighty then boys! Let's go make sure our merchandise is in good condition before we take him to the ship." And so they left, slowly following after the poor boy._

_End of flashback_

The Straw Hats stared in shock. The bartender was starting to get a little worried as they all just stood still, completely unmoving besides the occasional blink of an eye. The blonde man was the first to come back to reality.

"You mean to tell us that this… this… scumbag _drugged _Luffy?" his voice was a dangerous whisper. "What kind of coward does that? You don't just… at least… he had no chance at all! Everybody knows Luffy is way too trusting and the idiot probably let his stomach think for him again and… Shit, if I had just given him food he would not have been so hungry! And now he's… WHERE THE HELL IS HE!" Sanji totally lost his cool as he babbled on, looking like a wild animal.

"I… I don't know. I heard some commotion outside a little after that, I think your… umm... captain? Your captain put up quite a fight even after being drugged." All the straw hats felt a small amount of pride at this. That's their Luffy for you!

"But I don't understand! Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just use a drug that makes the victim fall unconscious? All of that sounds like it's just a lot of trouble." Chopper's mind was running a thousand miles an hours, trying to figure out what kind of drug would cause the symptoms the bartender had just described. He was suddenly happy he hadn't given Luffy any medicine before that, who knows how the drug would've reacted to that! But then his professional mind tried to figure out how it all might've affected Luffy differently because he was still sick, and what if they kept giving it to him and there was addiction to worry about and side effects and…

The little reindeer went on overdrive, his eyes spinning and his body giving in, collapsing on itself. Franky quickly caught the doctor and tried to cool him off with a fan that came out of one of his fingers.

Now the bartender was very confused, noticing the tiny… Raccoon? For the first time, just to witness it TALK! And then collapse.

"You heard the question. Answer it." Zoro spat out as the older man got lost in following Chopper's antics.

"Right, right… umm. What was it… Right! That's… That's one of the things that make Genzo more feared than others like him. He isn't in it just for the money. He knows he can catch almost anyone he wants. For him it's all about the thrill of watching your victim at their weakest, giving them hope and then snatching it away. I've seen him do far worse before. Once he cut of a woman's leg before telling her to run…" The bartender looked absolutely horrified at the memory, his mind quickly returning to his house where his family was, praying to Kami they were still safe.

"Is that why they call him 'The Hunter'", Robin asked. She had heard Genzo be referred as that amongst a dozen other nicknames.

"Yes, horrible really. Who knows what he is doing to your friend right now, I don't know what happened after… That is all I know, I swear!" Zoro was about to draw out his sword again when Franky spoke up.

"Yo, Zoro-bro, I think that's enough. He's told us everything he knows and the poor guy looks like he's about to lose his head."

"I agree." This time it was Brook who had been very quiet so far. It wasn't that he didn't care any less than the rest, quite the opposite. He was a gentleman and an honorable fighter, but when it came to his captain, the boy who had given him a new chance at life after he had lost all hope, Brook became someone different. He wasn't sure he would be able to hold back, and so he had ventured to the kitchen of that dingy bar while still listening to the owner's story. There he made himself a cup of tea which he was now holding on to tight enough for the cup to crack and his bones to screech, it being the only thing that kept his hand of off his sword.

"This man has risked his own life as well as his family's to tell us this story, I don't think he has much to lose now. So we should be thankful and head out. Luffy-san has been missing for quite a while, and he could be getting further and further away from us as we speak. Yohoho." To anyone else Brook might've seemed like an expressionless skeleton, but his nakama recognized the underlying panic and urgency in his voice.

"Oww, this mister has been suuupaaa helpful. Let's get going and bring Luffy-bro home!" Franky said as he too started feeling restless at the thought of his captain being taken too far away for them to be able to reach him.

Robin still wanted to give this man a good slap on his face for letting a slave trader just take Luffy in front of his eyes, but she knew Franky and Brook were right. Just like them, the bartender had people he wanted to protect, that's all there was to it.

"Indeed. The one thing that I have learned about the underground slave market is that if Luffy is sold before we get to him, the chances of ever finding him again will become very close to zero." Her tone was gravely, and she too wanted to get going as quick as possible. The fact that Luffy had already been with his captors for more than 24 hours was an unbearable thought.

"What are we waiting for then? Let's go!" Usopp was halfway across the room when Nami's voice stopped him.

"And where exactly are you going? I think we've been running in circles enough for one day, it's time to make a plan." Everybody turned to look at her, realizing only now that they had once again no idea where to look. They had all been so wrapped up with the thought of getting to Luffy _now _that they had not thought about the _how_. They now knew for sure that he was in trouble, but that didn't make them any closer to actually finding him.

"Well, sure but… what is the plan? I'd rather be running around in circles than do nothing! I can't just stand here while Luffy is… I don't know, being tortured or… _trained_ or something!" Usopp was looking at Nami with a wild look in his eyes and gesturing around, not able to stand still a moment more.

"I know, Usopp! We all feel the same, okay? And I do have a plan actually. It might not be a good one, but it's something." Now they were all looking at the navigator with hopeful eyes.

"Fine, I'm listening." Usopp gave in, but refused to sit down, shuffling from one foot to another and fidgeting his fingers.

"Well… I think it's time we started acting more like pirates and became the scum most of them are. The only way of making any of the underground community to trust us is to blend in. But first things first, we can't keep running around looking like us anymore. I'm sure anyone related to this Genzo person already knows we are looking for him. So… It's time for a little make over." Nami had an almost excited gleam in her eyes. It wasn't that she was excited to mingle with the worst of the worst, but if it meant getting closer to Luffy, she would do it in a heartbeat.

**o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o**

**And I think I'm stopping here. It's a bit confusing that things with Luffy and the rest of the crew are happening on different days, so in the next chapter we'll find out what happened to Luffy between getting caught and now, at the same time catching up with the time line.**

**And it looks like the Straw Hats turn into gangsters when they are worried. Who knew?**

**Hope you liked it! It was a bit challenging to write this, with all the straw hats in the same place. I try to get all of their reactions and feelings in here, but it's hard. Hopefully they'll decide to go their separate ways soon and I can focus on just a few of them at a time. Maybe I'll suggest that to them. ^-^ Also I miss Luffy! As in writing him, and I mean in a non-drugged or depressed state. :D Have to figure out a way to do that in all this darkness.**

**-Ssus**

**Answers to reviews:**

**Queen Lily Tiger Ellyessa: **Yes! Some coffee. Can't survive without it. Thanks, Sanji! ^-^ Though it seems to me like Luffy is trying to steel my spot as the main character here! (wait, what?) And poor Zoro, don't feel bad! I'm sure Luffy won't blame you. :)

**Neko11: **I agree, people should be kinder to Luffy! (I'm ignoring the fact that I am the one who is responsible for his suffering.) Next chapter we'll find out more about what is happening to him! :) Hope the Straw Hats plan works and they can kick Genzo's ass, I hate him!

**FlightWulf: **Waah, you have no idea how much I laughed at the nick names for Genzo… x) That was hilarious!Thank you for that. But it looks like for now he's just gonna be Genzo. I couldn't come up with any genius way of changing it. ;(

I'm glad you liked it! I was a little unsure about it, some people think these sort of POVs are boring or uninteresting. But I thought it was important that you all knew what poor Luffy was going through. And I know it looked bad there for a moment, but I wouldn't do that to him! Just teasing y'all. :D And maybe in this chapter… or is it the next one? x) You found/will find out why these particular slave traders used the kind of drug they did, instead of just one that would've knocked him out cold. And yes, it is a bit sad that not getting raped is the highlight of your day… Let's hope he'll get a break soon! (_Yeah, right._)

You know, your friend sounds a little a little bit like me. I take being a One Piece fan _very _seriously. I got my best friend into it too, though soon after I found out I should not have! She knows it's my weakness and uses it against me! Meanie. One time she sent me a text announcing that she had changed her name to Monkey D. Krista….. Maybe it's better I don't tell you how I reacted. x)

Movie 6 is also one of my favorites, right after the newest one. (The only movie ever where I cry for the bad guy! Though I didn't think he was really the bad guy…) Stepping out of the box really worked in that one.

It would be great if you would be willing to check the chapters! :O Though maybe I should PMs you, discussing it here might take a while. :P

I wonder if I answered to everything. Hope so! Thank you for another wonderful review! ^-^

**LU: **Thank you! ^-^

**GomoNoJutsu: **Here it is! And since I got this one out early, I think I'll still update on Sunday too, since I have a weekend off! YEY! Thank you for reviewing and following the story! :)

**Mia: **I am really happy you like it. I hope I can keep up the suspense. :D

**onepieceFan: **Sorry for the short chapter! This one is longer, and so is the next one. ;) Thanks for your interest and reviews too! They keep me going. ^-^

**carrotcakeo5: **I know, that Luffy is too trusting. But that's why we love him, so I guess we'll just have to keep saving him from all the trouble he gets in.

I'm glad you liked it, writing the last chapter was interesting. :D I love writing different points of views. And I know, all the suspense is keeping me on my toes too. x) As a writer, I don't like to plan ahead too much, it's more fun to see what my mind comes up with. :P Mysterious place, my mind I mean.

I love people who make stoic people go crazy! I can't do that, they intimidate me too much. :D I'm good at making other people go crazy though. We should join forces!

Thanks for another review, hopefully you'll stay interested!


	5. Chapter 5 - Realm of Power

**When Luffy Went a Little too Far – Chapter 5**

**Okay, I know I said I would only post on Sundays and now I'm just randomly posting again. But I got inspired after watching some old One Piece episodes and wrote two new chapters out of no-where, so here's a new one for you guys. :P**

**Here we finally find out more about Luffy's whereabouts and catch up with the time line, after that everything should be a little clearer.**

**Warnings: Violence, swearing, drugs, kidnapping, some forms of torture**

**And just for those who are not familiar with Japanese words, I use only a few that just sounds weird to me in any other language, like the devil fruit names and attacks, kairouseki (sea stone), Den Den Mushi (the snail phone? Or what is it in English :D) and tenryuubito (world nobles). I also use a Latin word here, the ships name Servisia comes from the Latin word 'servus' which means slave.**

**Name of the chapter is a Two Steps from Hell song again, 'Realm of Power'. Their music is just so epic!**

**o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o**

**Chapter 5 – Realm of Power**

The day of Luffy's capture, Genzo the slave trader and his men

That damn kid. Genzo was currently nurturing a split lip and a bruised cheek. He was getting more and more convinced that his new victim was indeed the infamous Straw Hat Luffy. He sure had a mean punch even in his weakened state. The boy obviously had a fever, his whole body had been warm to the touch, and that was not because of the drug. He also seemed to have trouble breathing, his breaths coming out in short wheezing gasps.

Genzo smiled. This had to be his lucky day. Not only did he succeed in fooling a 400 million beli man, it seemed that he was already weak and there was no sign of his crew what so ever. But the slave trader's cheek was proof that he had underestimated the slender looking boy anyway.

_Should've just used kairouseki from the start, _he thought as he turned to command his men to chase after the runaway.

"He is disoriented and slow, it shouldn't be too hard to catch up. Get the shackles and guns ready though, we can't afford to lose any time. We need to get out of here before his crew realizes that he's gone. I'm not in the mood for a fight." And with that he started to slowly follow after his running men. Genzo was by no way weak himself, he could fight if he had to, but he liked to play dirty. It was easier to drug and threaten, to see people's faces when they were alone and confused or realized they didn't have any choice. He loved the chase.

Chuckling lightly Genzo walked down the street. He took his time to look around, enjoying the fact that even in the busy hours of the afternoon there was always an empty path for him to walk through. This was exactly why he liked this particular town so much. And of course there was the beautiful irony of this Island's name; Hinanjyo, which meant a place of shelter, a safe haven. It was perfect. He had been doing business here for years now, and every single person here knew him for what he was: a man you would not want to cross. They all knew what he did, they all knew where he was and what he looked like, yet none of them would ever speak. They were like well trained dogs, knowing their place, and that is how he liked it. Actually that was the whole reason why he was in this business: he loved to see people's true nature in all of its pathetic cowardice. People didn't care for each other, as long as they were safe themselves. All and every kind of power that people had over each other in this world wasn't real, just an illusion. And he was creating one of these illusions himself.

Even though Genzo relished in the power he had over people, he was in no way a hypocrite. He knew he himself was right there with the rest of them. He knew all of his power was in the hands of his costumers, and if it came down to it, he wouldn't hesitate at all to throw his men in front of the fire to save himself. The only difference between himself and the pathetic lot he was walking amongst was that he admitted this weakness and used it to his advantage. He wasn't a fool like those pirates, stepping out of their place and barking at their masters just to chase a ridiculous dream. They were all fools that deserved what was coming to them. And talking about those fools, he now spotted a familiar yellow hat on the side of the main street, bouncing on the back of a raven haired boy who was crawling on the ground, trying to get away from the crowds. Genzo saw a few people who looked like they wanted to help the sick boy, but as soon as they saw him approaching, they all scattered like little mice. He smiled. The feeling of power was like drugs to him.

As he was left alone with his victim, he couldn't help but scuff at his men. They truly were hopeless. They had been running in front of him, and now where were they? He would have to punish them later. But first things first.

By now the boy had noticed that he wasn't alone and tried to stand up. His whole body was drenched in sweat and he looked like he might pass out any second. Yet he lifted his fists and growled at Genzo who couldn't help but smile. It was like looking at a wounded animal that was cornered without an escape. As weak as the other was, Genzo knew he couldn't underestimate him again. He had heard the stories of Straw Hat's incredible will power and ability to get out of the most bizarre and hopeless situations. Not this time though.

With a cruel smile on his face he pulled out his latest weapon. He had never tried it before, and he was ecstatic to give it a go. He took aim at his prey who seemed to try focus his eyes on the gun in his enemy's hand, but it was too late.

Genzo pulled the trigger, not once or even twice, but three times. He was aware that he could easily kill his prize, but he was too far gone to worry about that. It was so fascinating to see the kairouseki bullet pierce through the skin that was supposed to be bullet proof. After the third shot the boy sunk to the ground and didn't get up again.

"Oops. Looks like a got a little carried away." Genzo laughed as he put the gun away and walked to the boy. He was still breathing, though faintly. Good, he was alive. _I am definitely not done with this one yet, _he thought and looked at the wounds. One of the bullets pierced a shoulder, other one was lodged somewhere in the boy's stomach and the third one had grazed his right thigh. Nothing that couldn't be fixed.

That was when his men finally came rushing from behind the two, having heard the shots.

"Took you long enough," Genzo said in a warning tone as he looked at his men. They all shivered and took a step back.

"Now, tie him up! There is a bullet in him so he can't use his power anyway, but I'm not taking any risks. Take him to the ship, we are setting sail tonight. I have a few calls to make." Then he walked away way, leaving the boy for his men to take care of.

**o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o**

With Luffy, On the Slave Ship Servisia, the next day

Luffy had experienced the effect of kairouseki several times since he ate the gomu gomu no mi, but never had it felt like this. He felt like he did when he fell into the ocean, his whole body was suffocating and all he wanted to do was to go back to sleep. But by now he was so hungry, his stomach wouldn't let him. O top of that there was a piercing pain radiating from somewhere around his stomach that had nothing to do with food.

The raven was slumped against the wall of a holding cell, his hands confined with the weakening cuffs above his head. They were suspended from a chain that attached to the ceiling. Luffy didn't have much to be thankful for right now, but he did thank who ever decided to leave the cuffs low enough so he could sit on the ground. It definitely made this a little more comfortable.

He had woken up not too long ago. He had tried to look around, but there wasn't much he could see. The cell he was in looked like it was entirely made out of kairouseki. _What a waste, _Luffy thought, knowing that kairouseki didn't exactly grow in trees. It's not like he could do anything with the cuffs on anyway.

Only one of the walls had bars on them, the rest being solid. Through the bars he could see nothing but a metal wall of what he assumed was the inside of a ship. He could feel the slight swaying from the waves and hear the creaking of the hull somewhere below him. In other words, it took him about 2 minutes to get incredibly bored.

_GROOOOOWWWL…. _His stomach again. How long had it been since he last ate?

"Ooooooooooi?! Is someone there?! Oooooooooi!? Can you hear me? I'm hungry! Is it dinner time yet? Saaanjiii…" His voice slowly faded into a whine as he felt weakness overcome his senses. Where the heck was his crew? And where was he? Luffy tried to concentrate and remember why he was… well, here, wherever this was. But everything seemed so blurred and hazy he couldn't remember a thing. _Oh, well. I'll just take a nap and wait for the other's to come, _he thought as he let his eyes fall close.

A few hours passed with nothing but the creaking sound and Luffy's stomach growling, making it impossible to fall asleep. Very soon he started to whine again, his voice growing louder, and louder, and louder until…

"Will you shut up, bastard? We're all hungry but I don't hear anyone else bitching about it!" Someone was yelling at him from behind the wall on his right side. This made Luffy perk up, excited at the thought of having someone to talk to.

"Hey! Why didn't you answer earlier when I asked if there was anyone here? Oh well, it's okay. Who are you? I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" Luffy was so happy to be talking to someone besides himself that he couldn't help the grin on his face.

The answer that he got, however, came from somewhere on his left. It was a deep, manly voice, and the owner was laughing as his voice bounced on the walls, making the sound many times louder than it would've been.

"BWHAHAHAHHA! Monkey D. Luffy, huh? Boy aren't you in trouble! Makes me feel almost happy for myself! BWHAAHAHAHAHA!" Luffy turned his head to the left, his eyes widening.

"You know my name, old man? And what do you mean I'm in trouble! My crew will be here any minute now to get me out. Maybe they can help you too. Were you captured too? Are you a pirate, old man? Where are we anyway?" The voice on the left laughed again, where as the one on the right just scoffed, apparently not interested in the loud youngster's shenanigans.

"BWAHAHAHAHA. You sure talk a lot, kid! I like that. BWAHAHAHAHA. And I'm sorry to tell you, but you are in trouble. This is the slave ship Servisia, and we left the Hinanjyo Island last night. I don't think your friends are coming. BWHAHAHAHAH!"

Now Luffy was confused. A slave ship? Why would he be on a slave ship? And what was that about leaving the Hinanjyo Island last night? Hinanjyo Island… That was the one…

"AAAARGH! WHAT!? WHY DID WE LEAVE? WHAT DAY IS IT? WHERE ARE WE? AND WHERE IS MY HAT?"

Luffy was in full panic mode. How did he not notice his precious hat was gone? Must be the hunger, it was really hard to think at all. And how did he get here? His crew always told him that he wasn't allowed to leave which ever town they were at, and now he wasn't even on the island anymore. Damn it, they were going to be angry. And that's when it all came back to him.

He remembered being sick, everybody being angry with him, going to town by himself to restock, sitting in that bar and… Then what. He let out a furious growl, frustrated with himself.

"Aaaargh! I can't remember! How the heck did I end up here?!" He wasn't really talking to anyone, but the voice on the left answered anyway.

"BWAHAHAHA. My guess would be drugs. Genzo really likes to play dirty. And if you really are _the_ Monkey D. Luffy, then he must have used every trick he has up his sleeve. Bwahaha, no way would he let a bounty like yours walk away. Bwhaha."

Luffy was getting more and more confused instead of understanding what was going on.

"Genzo? Who's that? And why would he want my bounty? Does he work for the marines? I thought this was a slave ship?" Boy, did he wish that Robin was here right now. She always explained things so that he actually understood them.

"Either you are still high as shit or you aren't very bright, idiot." It was the voice on the right again. Luffy scowled at that. He really didn't like this guy much, he was so rude!

"Let me spell it out for you. You were captured by one of the worst scumbags you can find in the new world, Genzo the slave trader and his men. We are all well on our way to hell itself, if we even make it that far. I've heard that not all of the people who enter this ship make it alive to their _masters_. Simply put, you are going to be sold off to be some rich shits boy toy."

Onyx eyes stared at the person he couldn't see from the wall. _Was this guy an idiot? _Luffy thought.

"I don't want to!" There was a long silence and then…

"THE HELL YOU MEAN YOU DON'T WANT TO!? No one wants this, but it's not like we have a choice!" This person obviously didn't have much patience if he lost this cool this quickly.

"I refuse, then." Luffy's tone was serious and determined.

"YOU CAN'T REFUSE! IT'S THE SAME THING…. AAARGH! FORGET IT!" The person finally gave up with a frustrated yell. The old man on the other side of Luffy was laughing at the two younger men, very amused by their exchange.

"Bwahaha. You sure are a funny kid!"

Luffy didn't understand what they were so worked up about. He was perfectly serious. There was no way he would agree to being a slave. He was going to be the King of Pirates!

With all the noise they had been making, none of them heard the door that creaked open at the end of the hall.

**o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o**

With Genzo, On the Slave ship Servisia

"Genzo, sir! There is a call for you."

_Finally! _He thought, quickly taking the Den Den Mushi from the man. He had been waiting for this call for hours.

"This is Genzo. What may this be about?" He used his charming voice, knowing these rich idiots loved it when they were being sucked up to.

"Genzo? Is it true? Do you have him!?" The voice on the other end of the line was screeching with excitement and fury at the same time.

"Why yes, indeed I do. Are you interested, sir?" Genzo didn't need to ask who they were talking about. He knew that by know all of his regular costumers knew he had the Straw Hat. After getting to the ship, he had checked the wanted poster, making sure he had the right guy. And boy did he have a celebration when he confirmed the boy's identity. He could already smell the money he would get for him.

He was now twirling the well-known straw hat on his hand, smirking like crazy.

"Yes, I want him! I bet you have already gotten offers, but you know I will have way more than anyone else!" Genzo waited for a moment, this was where he had to play his cards right to win the main prize.

"Are you sure though? I have been offered quite a bit, as you can imagine. And the government is sure find out soon too, I can only assume they would be more than willing to pay more than the 400 million the bounty offers. But don't worry, good sir, I have some others, very fine individuals…" He let his voice trail of, sensing how the man on the other end was seething in anger by now.

"You know damn well I'm not interested in any others! I am telling you I'll pay you more than the fleet admiral himself! You know I have it."

_And the deal is done, _Genzo smirked, as he made his final move.

"I am sure you do. Let me get back to you, and don't worry, your name is on the top of the list." And with hat he hung up, knowing the buyer was wrapped around his finger. This really was a good day.

They were already a day away from the Hinanjyo Island, and there had been no sign of the other Straw Hats. Things were going well for him indeed. Maybe it was time to celebrate a bit more.

Genzo took the hat with him and started walking towards the holding cells. He had made sure these particular cells were at the very bottom of the ship, just to make sure the screams wouldn't be heard by the buyers that sometimes visited his ship.

Genzo was more than pleased with the four occupants of his special holding cells. Straw Hat was of course his main prize at the moment, but he had not been lying when he told his costumers that he had other good individuals too. The older man in the first cell was Barbaria "The fighter". A well-known gladiator that would, despite his age, be great entertainment. Then there was the young feisty individual, whose bad trait was definitely his mouth. But he had an interesting devil fruit that many would be more than happy to play with, and besides, Genzo was more than capable of fixing a little problem like a bad mouth. Then a young woman from the island of women, Amazon Lily. That one was a gem. It was well known that the Amazonians were secretive and well protected by The Pirate Empress's Warlord position. But he had caught one, and there were already many willing buyers for her too.

However, this time his source of entertainment would be the black haired boy that was currently staring at him from behind the bars. He knew that this one would be the hardest to tame, and he didn't have all too much time. Genzo waited for the younger one to make the first move. It turned into a long staring competition which either of them was willing to lose. Or so Genzo thought. What he got was not what he expected. The pirate captain bowed his head as low as he could while his hands were restrained and said:

"Please let me out."

Genzo was taken by surprise, he had to admit that much. 'Let me out' was one of the most common things to come out of people's mouths in this situation, but it was always followed by an angry curse and threats, never a polite 'please'. It took the man a minute to gather himself before he started laughing, looking at the boy like he'd lost his mind.

"Gurahaha, and why would I do that?" He was sure the captain in front of him would snap soon and start yelling, but instead he just lifted his head a little and looked at Genzo in confusion.

"Because I asked nicely." Once again Genzo was taken by surprise. The boy reasoned like a little child. Well, with what he had seen of him so far, maybe he should've guessed. And if the boy really was as simple minded as he seemed, then his plan for now should go pretty smoothly.

"I see. I'm afraid I can't do that though. But I don't want to be rude, maybe there is something else I can do for you?" Here he let a cruel smile curve on his lips; he could already guess what the answer to his question would be. As on cue, the onyx eyes shot up to look at him with happiness.

"Really? So you were a nice old man after all! Thanks a lot. I'm hungry, bring me food." If Genzo had been a lesser man, he would've lost his cool at being called old or at the rude way the teenager asked for food. But he knew better and just smiled on, gesturing for the guard at the end of the hall to bring the tray of food he had requested to be brought down earlier.

"Of course, I can't believe I let you go hungry for this long. Here, this isn't much, but you can always have more after this… If you want." The boy completely missed the suspicious comment and once again looked confused, turning his head to the side like asking: _why wouldn't I want more?_

Genzo stepped into the cell and undid the cuffs around his prisoner's wrists before setting down the tray of food. The guard behind him looked a bit alarmed that his boss was just standing in a cell with a man who had a 400 million bounty on his head. But Genzo wasn't worried. He knew the pirate wouldn't be able to do much anyway. He watched as the boy clumsily took the small meal and ate the food in one go before lifting up the plate, asking for more. But the request died on his lips as his eyes went wide and he suddenly turned very green. Genzo took a step back and just enjoyed the show.

The boy had started to shake and the plate clattered as it fell, breaking on the hard rock. Luffy was holding one hand to his stomach and used the other one to keep himself from collapsing to the floor. His face was crunched up with pain as his body started to convulse and the food he just ate splattered onto the floor as he threw it up. But even when there was nothing left, the painful cramps wouldn't stop and the boy collapsed on his side, groaning and shivering. He ended up cutting his cheek on the broken plate, but that didn't seem to register to him at all as he curled into a tiny ball, holding his aching stomach.

After what seemed like hours to the suffering boy but was actually just 10 minutes, the cramps started to ease to a dull ache and he went still on the floor, panting as he tried to catch his breath.

Genzo gestured for the guard to clean up the mess and turned to leave. But the painful look on the Straw Hat's face had been so delicious, he decided to try one more thing. He took out the old hat from under his jacket and threw it on the floor in front of its owner's face. Then he snatched the sword from the guard's waist and plunged it through the hat, pinning it to the floor.

He was rewarded with a furious and horrified look, though all the boy could do was let out a little whimper as his treasure was being ripped in front of his eyes.

Genzo laughed at the pathetic sight of the pirate captain and stepped out of the cell. As he was leaving, he called behind him:

"Let me know if you want any more of that food. Gurahaha."

**o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o**

**Yikes, that last part was not fun. I'm liking Genzo less and less, how dare he use poor Luffy's weaknesses like that! Is it weird I hate the character I myself created? I could've made him nicer…**

**The middle part was very fun to write though. :D I love a happy and clueless Luffy.**

**Anyways, I have a feeling Genzo is only getting started. We'll see.**

**Since I'm posting this chapter so soon after the last one, I'm not answering to any reviews yet, I'll save that for the next chapter. Until then! ^-^**

**-Ssus**


	6. Chapter 6 - There Is No Plan

**When Luffy Went a Little too Far – Chapter 6**

**Hey there!**

**I have spent most of my week crying! Horrible, isn't it! Not really though. :P I started re-watching One Piece for the first time in maybe three years, all the way from episode 1. I just wanted to get that feeling of big adventures again. I'm only on episode 50 now, but damn it if it isn't heart wrenching to watch! Especially now that I know how far they will get, watching everybody meeting Luffy for the first time, setting out to the sea with big dreams... It's so nostalgic! x) So much fun.**

**And on that note, I posted one of the one shots I mentioned before, in case anybody is interested, as well as another one shot that really has nothing to do with this story, just something that I was inspired to write after watching the early episodes of the show.**

**One more thing! I'm hoping to have a beta soon, but this chapter was still checked by me. Now I'm paranoid of all the mistakes I might've made after checking this at 3 o'clock in the morning. :D Please point it out if you find any, and I will correct myself!**

**Now, I won't keep you from the chapter any longer, just the usual:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.**

**Warnings: Torture, Swearing**

**Answers to the reviews at the end of the chapter again!**

**Name of the chapter: 'There Is No Plan' is from the soundtrack of Transformers: Dark of the Moon**

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**Chapter 6 - There Is No Plan**

Luffy had never ever hated food so much. First he had been sick and he didn't feel like eating for days. Now he finally got food and it made him feel like his insides were on fire. It wasn't fair! Whatever was in that food, it was not good. He still felt the painful spasms of his muscles cramping and protesting against the substance he had eaten with the meal. _Definitely not a nice old man, _he decided as he kept on breathing in and out, in and out…

"You okay kid?" It was the man on his left. It was almost weird to hear his voice so serious since he had done nothing but laugh so far. Luffy just groaned, he felt miserable. He was still curled up in a tight ball, his body shivering from the cold of the floor and the shock from the treatment it had just received. On top of that, his treasured hat was still impaled to the floor. After the guard had cleaned up his cell, he'd just left, leaving his sword behind to make sure Luffy couldn't get his hat.

He really wanted to answer his fellow captive, if only to keep his mind off of things he didn't want to think about. But his throat was still burning from throwing up and coughing and he knew he wouldn't be able to say anything understandable. Sleeping was also out of the question, and therefore he had nothing to stop his mind from wandering to subjects he would rather leave untouched.

He thought back to his nakama and felt a bang of guilt. They must be really worried by now, he'd been gone for a day and a half and surely they would be doing everything they could to find him, right? But then he remembered the dreams he still had of them all disappearing in front of his eyes, remembered the utter feeling of failure at disappointing them as a captain. In the dreams he could hear all of their voices, accusing him, blaming him. Until two days ago, they had been just that; dreams, nothing more. But then there was that fight…

Luffy shook his head and tried to stop his track of thoughts. He shouldn't go there, he was stronger than this. He believed in his crew and knew they were coming. He was stronger than this…

It was just very hard to be strong when he felt like he did. He started to move around a little, feeling shocks of pain course through his body. Now that he wasn't tied up anymore, he could really take a good once over of himself. He noticed the cut on his thigh that looked like it was almost healed. His left shoulder was bandaged and it burned every time he tried to move his arm. He tried really hard to think back and vaguely remembered the sound of a gunshot. Three gunshots, actually. The shoulder must be one of them. Slowly he lifted his better arm up and ran his fingers over the bandage. When he pulled his hand back, he saw that his fingers were covered in fresh blood. _Still bleeding, _he thought, and even he knew that wasn't good.

He looked at the cut on his leg again and decided that it was most likely bullet number two. But then where was the third one? He was carefully moving his limbs around to see where else hurt when the voice from the left spoke up again.

"Seriously, kid. You are making an old man worry here. I might be a fighter but there is only so much stress my heart can take. Bwahaha. It was a little less dull here with your blabbering. Bwahaha." Luffy turned tired eyes to look at the wall on the left, wishing he could see the man. He was starting to think that maybe he was just making things up and there wasn't anyone there. He had been drugged after all, right? He remembered Chopper telling him that some drugs could make you see and hear things, so maybe that's what this was. But then again, it had been the old man who had told him that he had been drugged in the first place, so how could he be sure that was even true?

The raven shook his head again, all this thinking was giving him a headache.

"Huh, and I thought that a man with a 400 million bounty on his head would be strong. Guess I was wrong. If you can't take something like some half assed drugs then I doubt you will make it out of this ship alive. Genzo is just getting started. Then again, now that it's calm and quiet, maybe we can all just die in peace." Luffy scowled at the other voice once more. It was not helping him at all. It was actually making him really angry.

"Shu- shut up," was all he could get out, and even that was just a horrible raspy whisper.

"Bwahaha! So you are alive! You could've said something earlier. And don't mind him, he's really a good kid. I'm Barbaria, by the way. And the rude one on your right is Hiroshi-kun."

"HEY! Who are you to introduce me to people, old man?!" Hiroshi was once again yelling and it was not helping Luffy's headache.

"Hiroshi? I think Hidoi sounds better." (Note: Hiroshi can mean tolerant, Hidoi means awful, horrible, violent) He mumbled tiredly, and all he gained with the remark was more yelling.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING HORRIBLE, HUH!? Just wait until I get my hands on you, you bastard!" The older man was laughing again, these two really made this day a little better.

"Bwahaha! I think you just proved him right, Hidoi-kun!" (Meaning violent here) The other one was reduced to angry muttering as he gave up, not wanting to fuel things up any more than he had already.

Luffy on the other hand was starting to get a little bit of his strength back, and turned so he was lying on his back. A horrible pain went through his stomach as he straightened out, a pain that couldn't be from just the cramps. Oh well, now that he got his voice back, almost, he had something to distract himself with.

"Say, Barba… Bara… Baribari* no ossan, how come you sound so energetic?" Luffy had gotten a little annoyed by Hidoi's remark about him being weak, and wondered why the other two sounded like they were perfectly fine.

"Bwahaha! Don't get me wrong, kid. I might sound energetic, but if you could see me you would know I'm not much better off than you. Though now that you are here, it might be that the rest of us will have it a little easier. Bwahaha! I really do feel sorry for you, kid. Those friends of yours better hurry up, like Hiroshi-kun said, Genzo is only getting started with you."

At the mention of his friends Luffy's thoughts quickly went back to the Thousand Sunny and the fight. He tried his best to convince himself that his friends had just been tired and didn't mean what they said. That must be it, Nami had mentioned something about fighting for their lives…

His thoughts were once again interrupted, this time by the creaking of that door at the end of the hall. It was the guard from earlier, though he wasn't alone. The other guard kept on walking past the raven's cell, but the other one stopped right in front of it, opening the door.

"The boss wants to see you, Straw Hat. Get up!" Luffy did his best to push himself up, but quickly collapsed back to the floor as his shaking limbs gave in. The guard scoffed in annoyance and reached out to grasp a fistful of Luffy's hair. The raven cringed at the pain, but he was powerless to stop the guy as he was dragged out of the cell.

Once he was out, he saw that the other guard had gone over to the furthest cell in the room. He was currently holding a girl that stared at Luffy with tired but curious eyes. The boy couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't said anything before when the rest of them were talking. Also, now that he really looked at her, there was something vaguely familiar about her.

However, he didn't have much time to think it further as he felt himself being lifted up to his feet and with a painful push to his back he started to stumble towards the door.

He tried to get a quick look at Baribari no ossan as he went by, but all he had time to see was a white mane of hair and beard and a bloody face.

As they went on, Luffy tripped on his feet several times, and every time he was violently pulled back up by his hair. He wasn't sure where they were now, he had lost track of the turns after the first two lefts. He just wasn't good with directions.

They seemed to be going up, walking up flights of stairs one after another. Luffy was pretty sure they were doing this on purpose to make it harder for the two captives because he had seen an elevator that seemed to work perfectly fine as someone stepped out of it on one of the floors.

After climbing up and up, they finally stopped in front of a door. The natural light here burned Luffy's eyes after being in that dimly lit cell for so long. The door in front of him opened and he was pushed in. He fell right on his hands and knees, letting out a gasp of pain as he hit the floor. He wondered why a simple pump like that hurt so much, and suddenly had a déjà vu of thinking the exact same thing before.

The door behind him was slammed shut and he was left in the room alone. They must've taken the girl somewhere else then.

He took this time to look around the room. It looked almost like an infirmary, but not quite as nice and comfy as Chopper's. The bed in the middle of the room didn't have any cushions on it, the needles and other weird medical stuff was clearly out for anyone to see, whereas the Straw Hat's doctor always made sure nothing intimidating was displayed in front of his patients.

Looking at the scalpels and knives, Luffy wondered why they would leave him alone in a room full of possible weapons. He could easily choose any of them and surprise the Genzo guy or whoever came in through that door and then escape. Surely they weren't dump enough to not realize this.

Despite this thought, Luffy would never miss a chance at escaping. What kind of pirate would he be if he just sat there and let such an obvious opportunity go?

Slowly he crawled towards one of the tables next to the wall on his left, shaky limbs making it hard to do even that much.

It then occurred to him that he should not be feeling this weak. He was not handcuffed and he also wasn't in the kairouseki cell anymore. Yet he felt like he was crawling in a pool of sea water and not plain air. Why was his body so heavy?

He'd only gotten halfway across the room when he heard the door being opened again. With weary eyes he turned to see who had joined him. To his horror it was the Genzo guy from before, and with him was someone who looked like a doctor; a skinny guy with big classes and a white jacket.

"Ah! Straw Hat! I am terribly sorry that I had to summon you again so quickly after our first meeting, but I'm sure you understand that I have to make sure my merchandise stays alive. At least some of them." He smirked in that cruel way Luffy had seen before and it made him feel uneasy. Then he felt the doctor tug on his sleeve and gesturing for him to get on the bed. Luffy gave the man an incredulous look. Did he really think he would be crawling on the ground if he had the strength to climb on a bed?

The doctor looked confused and quickly glanced at Genzo who rolled his eyes and walked to the boy on the floor. He took a good hold of his hair before swinging him up and onto the bad. Luffy let out an involuntary scream and wondered what it was with these people and pulling on his hair. Did they want him to be bald?

"Be quick, please. I don't have much time and I have a few others that need my attention too." Genzo instructed the other man as he sat down on a chair in the corner and just watched.

The doctor hastily got to work, unwrapping the bandage of the to-be-slave's shoulder, cleaning the wound with something that hurt as it bubbled, then rewrapped it neatly. Luffy just laid there, knowing that he didn't have the strength to fight back right now, and the doctor was really just helping him, so he had no reason to struggle.

It wasn't until the busy man lifted up his shirt and pressed against his stomach before he made his first protest. The pain was unbearable and Luffy quickly sat up, swatting the doctor's hand away. He was trying to take deep breaths and willed the pain to go away, when suddenly the doctor was there again, urging him to lay back down. But the captive didn't feel so cooperative anymore. He used his good arm to push the white-coated man hard enough for said man to fall on his bottom on the floor. The doctor looked at him with wide eyed before turning to Genzo who was slowly getting up from his chair in the corner.

"Oy, oy, are you really going to refuse the little help you are offered? Maybe you haven't realized it yet, but your situation is bad enough that you will die very quickly if you anger me too much. It would be a shame if you _accidentally _died before I get a payment. But hey…" The slave trader was now grinning madly above Luffy, taking a hold of the boy's throat and squeezing hard.

"…If I remember right, the wanted poster says dead _or_ alive. No matter what, I will get my money. How I'll get it, I guess that is up to you." Without warning the bigger man slammed his captive on to the bed with insane strength, and using the hand that wasn't currently squeezing the life out of the poor boy, he pulled restraining straps from both sides of the bed and closed them tightly around the wheezing raven's wrists.

Luffy's vision had just started to blur, white spots taking over all the colors when the pressure on his throat was finally gone and he could breathe in some precious air. While he coughed and wheezed he failed to notice that the doctor was back, once again lifting his shirt. He did however feel the blinding pain as pressure was applied to the left side of his stomach, and he ended up letting an involuntary yelp slip through his lips. _What the heck…_

"Umm, Genzo-san, it seems the boy's wound is infected… I… I don't know what I should… He still has a high fever and the whole area here is red and puffy, it looks pretty bad… Maybe we could take it out…"

"NO! We are not taking it out. I thought I made it very clear that the client I have in mind doesn't care for his powers, so it's better if he can't use them. Now, I don't care how you do it, but I'm sure you, as a doctor, know how to take care of something as simple as an infection!" Genzo sounded like he was starting to get impatient, and the doctor looked like he was ready to run for his life.

"Righ…Right, of course…" And then there were tubes connected to Luffy's arm, clear liquid invading his veins. But he didn't care about that, he was looking at Genzo in confusion, wondering what exactly were they not going to '_take out'_.

The slave trader seemed to notice the boy's questioning look. With a calm expression that made Luffy cringe in alarm the man brought two fingers down to the boy's sore stomach and slowly pressed down. The raven's eyes went wide and he would've screamed if his breath didn't get caught in his throat. Instead he squeezed his eyes shut tightly, trying ride through the waves of pain that tortured his whole body. He was starting to be seriously scared of the amount of pain he was in. He had gone through much worse without blinking an eye, and now he found himself showing signs of weakness more than he wanted to admit.

"You wanna know what it is?" Genzo asked, still in that calm, expressionless manner that made Luffy nervous because so far he had just seen that horrible smirk on his tormentor's face. The boy who was being questioned only groaned in answer, not really caring to hear what it was that hurt him as long as those offensive fingers stopped what they were doing!

"I don't know if you remember, but unfortunately I had to resort in some rather violent manners when capturing you since you insisted on fighting until the very end. As you might've guessed by now, I used a few kairouseki bullets. They work like magic! I will definitely invest in those in the future."

Luffy couldn't help but wonder how this man could just keep on talking in such a conversational manner while torturing someone. He tried his best to focus on the words he was hearing, but the pressure of those fingers got heavier and heavier, leaving him gasping for breath and blinking back the moisture that was building up behind his eyes. No matter what, he absolutely refused to cry!

"Well, anyway, I got a little carried away and fired a few extra shots on you. However it turned out to be a good thing for me, because this…" here he placed his whole hand on the aching stomach of the boy below him and pushed down hard, relishing in the scream that finally escaped his mouth.

"…this is one of those bullets, and I asked the good doctor here to leave it in. Your future _master_ was very excited about the idea of not having to worry about your little rubber ability or kairouseki cuffs all the time. Of course this is most likely the first time anyone has ever attempted to keep kairouseki inside of a devil's fruit user's body, and it does seem you're not doing very well so far."

Finally, _finally _the pressure was gone and Luffy let his body relax on the hard surface of the bed, slowly taking in shaky breaths and trying his best to glare at the source of his current predicament. He was starting to seriously hate this man who obviously didn't have even a trace of humanity in him. Said man looked him in the eyes and Luffy felt almost relieved to see the smirk back on his face.

"Like the doctor said, apparently the bullet is causing an infection. I would also say that it will keep making you weaker and weaker, since the long term effects of kairouseki have been tested before with some gruesome results, and that was only from the cuffs that barely touch the skin, so I imagine the next few days will be very miserable for you. I would even guess that in the end it might kill you. Lucky for me, your buyer wasn't planning on keeping you alive for long anyway. A waste, I would say, such a fine body you have, someone else would've been happy to have you as long time entertainment. But in the end, that's not really my concern. Whoever bids the most money wins, simple as that. Now why don't you let the doctor help you and make sure you stay alive for a while more." Genzo ended his little speech with a sweet smile that looked horribly wrong on his face.

Luffy just stared at the man with a frown on his face and processed the information he just received. He could feel the doctor hooking more IV lines on his arm but paid no heed to that. All he could really understand from the slave trader's speech was that there was a kairouseki bullet stuck inside of him and apparently it was making him sick. _I am really getting tired of being sick, it sucks! _He thought with a pout on his face.

But whatever it was, he was sure that Chopper would be able to fix it in no time. He trusted his little nakama and had no worries what so ever that he wouldn't get better. The thought of his friend brought a small smile on his face which was quickly interrupted by a blow that made his head turn sharply and slam against the bed. It took him awhile to realize that Genzo had just hit him across the face and that it had hurt way more than it should have.

The doctor had paused what he had been doing and was now staring at his boss with scared eyes. Said boss was inspecting the expression on his captive's face, carefully calculating the younger man.

"Men who hear they are about to die don't usually smile. You surprise me, Straw Hat. Either you are insane or you are still having some daydreams about your friends coming and saving you." Luffy blinked a few times before the smile returned on his face, this time bigger and brighter.

"I know they are coming and when they do, they will kick your ass." He stated this like it was a very simple fact without a trace of hesitation or doubt in his voice.

Genzo on the other hand was starting to slowly lose his patience with the raven haired pirate. In his experience even the strongest men faltered into desperation when hearing that they were about to die, or at least they would get angry and scream insults at their captor for taking away their freedom, hurting their pride in the process. But this boy, he just kept smiling after everything and that clear, unwavering trust in his eyes was making Genzo very angry. His newest victim went against all of his ideas of people being sorry, pathetic creatures. But then again, maybe he could use this against him, as long as he managed to keep his cool. This boy was really testing his limits.

"I see. I do feel sorry for you. Such illusions you have in that simple mind of yours. The longer you have them the more it hurts when they are shattered, and since I think I'm done being nice to you, I am happy to announce that I get to be the one to do the shattering. You see, you've been gone for a day and a half, and your so called _nakama_ haven't even started to look for you."

Genzo waited for a reaction, and just like he thought, the boy wasn't ready to give up his hopes just yet.

"You can say that, but they'll be here soon." Luffy said with a nod, refusing to be fooled by this man's words.

"Gurahaha. Such faith you have in them. If only they were as loyal as you think. If it is proof you want, I have it." Here the slave trader walked to a table next to the chair he had been occupying earlier and picked up the Den Den Mushi that was quietly lying there.

Luffy followed the man's movements carefully, wondering what he was up to. He was starting to feel tired, probably from whatever medicine had been put in him. The whole not eating thing didn't exactly help and the kairouseki in his body must've had some effect on him too. His vision started to blur a little but he shook his head and focused back on the man that was now waiting for someone to pick up at the other end of the line.

After a few rings and a _ka-cha _an unfamiliar voice filled the room.

"Genzo, sir!" The voice greeted. Genzo took a moment to smirk at the captain who was watching him carefully before answering.

"Ah, Yamato, right? I have a little favor to ask. Do you still have the Straw Hat's ship in sight?"

"Yes, sir! I am looking at it right now. How can I help, sir?"

Luffy got a little panicked at the thought of one of these guys being close enough to Sunny to see it. Was his crew in trouble?

"Wonderful! If you don't mind, I would like you to live stream your view, a certain pirate captain I have here is having some trouble believing me without proof." Once again he smirked at said captain as he waited for a reply.

"Or course, sir. Just turn on your receiver and we'll be all set."

Genzo thanked the man on the other end before ending the call. He walked over to a screen and pushed a few buttons, making the screen come alive. At first they could see nothing but blur, but in a few seconds the view changed. It seemed to be some rocks and somebody was obviously fumbling with the Den Den Mushi that was streaming the video. But then the camera was turned and the three people in the room clearly saw the Thousand Sunny anchored close to the shore. The view shook a little before zooming in closer.

Luffy watched on, at first getting angry and thinking that Genzo was planning on doing something to his nakama. That would be completely unforgivable and he even prepared himself for a fight if need be. But nothing happened, the video juts showed the ship slowly swaying from one side to the other.

After a while a few figures could be seen on the deck. Luffy focused his eyes on them and realized it was Zoro and Sanji, obviously fighting about something. It didn't take long for a certain orange haired woman to step in and knock them on the head. The Captain chuckled a little, happy to see that his crew was fine. His chuckle didn't go unnoticed by Genzo who was getting more and more furious by the second. That was not the reaction he had hoped for.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you? Do you not have any idea what this means?" He was waving his hand in front of the screen and looking at the Straw Hat with angry eyes.

"Yeah, my ship and my nakama are alright. And don't you dare hurt them! No one hurts my friends." At the end Luffy's tone changed from happy and care free to serious and threatening so quickly the doctor beside him took a step back.

Genzo looked at the boy for a moment before bursting out in laughter.

"Gurahahahaha! You must be the densest person I have ever met. Let me help you clear the picture here a little. This is a live stream, meaning everything we see on the screen is actually happening right now, which means that while you are here, being tortured and shipped off to be a slave, your friends are doing… well, nothing apparently." _Finally! _Genzo thought as he saw the smile on the boy's face disappear, fading away and taking the threatening glint with it. The slave trader looked very closely how those onyx eyes looked at the screen with a frown. The eyes wavered a little, going back and forth between the view of the Straw Hat crew and Genzo. Many emotions flickered on the boy's face before only one took over: determination. Luffy looked at his captor in the eyes and announced with heavy certainty:

"They will come." At this point Genzo's fury skyrocketed and it took him only two long steps to get to the bed where to boy was still lying, defying him like no one ever had. He took a hold of the boy's arm and pulled with all his strength. A satisfying scream filled the room as the raven was forcefully lifted from the bed, the restrains on his wrists protesting. The other one quickly snapped in two, but the other one was on tighter and ended up lasting long enough for the trapped boy's shoulder to pop loudly and wrist twist with a sickening crunch.

Luffy felt like his left arm was being ripped apart. The newly wrapped wound on his shoulder was once again bleeding as it was forcefully ripped open. He heard a pop and the pain in his shoulder intensified greatly, making an involuntary scream rip from his already hoarse throat and when he heard the horrible crunch of bones breaking he could only assume it was his wrist, but he could barely feel it from the all-consuming pain he was in already. It was probably good too, he hadn't broken any bones since before he ate his devil fruit and he wasn't sure he wanted to be reminded of how much it hurt. _Damn kairouseki, _he thought before he felt himself flying, then there was a loud crash and the feeling of being crushed.

Genzo had flung the Straw Hat across the room with enough power for the lithe body to go through the wall of a closet before falling to the ground, a pile of rubble and wood burying the raven haired pirate. There was an animalistic glint in Genzo's eyes as he stepped over the broken pieces of a door and reached his hand to pull his captive out from under the pile the remnants of a wall. He balled his fist tightly and brought it to the boy's face, making said boy crash to the floor again.

Luffy felt ashamed for being this weak. He could do nothing but let himself be flung around and beaten as his captor unleashed his fury on the raven. But Luffy wasn't about to give up. Even if he couldn't fight, he still had his pride as a pirate and his trust for his friends. He used the last of his strength to turn his head towards the seething man standing above him.

"You can hit me all you want, but no matter what, I refuse to be anybody's slave. My nakama will come for me." And with that he fell into unconsciousness.

Genzo was breathing heavily as he watched his captive's eyes close and body relax. He quickly ran a hand over his face and closed his own eyes.

He couldn't believe he had let this… _vermin _rile him up like this. He never lost his cool, it just wasn't him. Yet somehow this boy knew exactly how to push his buttons just right to bring out this mindless animal from him. Or now that he gave it a little thought, knowing the Straw Hat he had most likely done none of on purpose, which made it that much worse. It was almost like getting angry at a child who told you they knew better than you. _Pathetic._

On top of that, beating the boy was not even working. _That's a 400 million man for you, _Genzo thought, respecting the pirate captain for living up to his reputation. But now was not the time for admiration. With his brain working properly again the slave trader knew exactly what would be the best way to hurt this boy. In the back of his mind he knew that he really didn't need to hurt him at all. The person who was going to buy the boy had specifically said they had no intention of doing nothing but see him lose his life in their hands, so no 'training' was needed. But since the Straw Hat was just gonna die anyway, there was no reason why the slave trader couldn't have a little fun with him himself. With one more deep breath Genzo called to the guard he knew was standing outside the room.

"You, escort the doctor to attend to the Amazonian, I will take this one back to his cell myself."

He was just about pick up the unconscious boy when he heard the annoyingly high pitched voice of the doctor.

"Ex- Excuse me, Genzo, sir. The- the IVs didn't have much time to drip, the- the boy really needs… needs the medicine and the shoulder is bleeding again…" His voice faded away as stormy eyes silenced him without a word, and all the doctor could do was watch as his supposed to be patient was being flung over the boss's shoulder and disappear out of the room.

**o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o**

**That chapter turned out to be a bit longer. ^-^ I'm sure you guys don't mind. :D**

**Thank you for all the reviews again! I am actually taking all your suggestions in consideration. I've come to the point in this story where there could be many different ways to go. One thing is for sure: this will be longer and more epic than originally planned. At this point it would be almost criminal to just end it simply and predictably. Hopefully I can pull it all off. :P**

***Explanation to the nick name Luffy gave Barbaria: Baribari can be the sound effect for somebody getting all energetic to do something. Ossan means old man.**

**Review answers:**

**Queen Lily Tiger Ellyessa: **NO! Zoro and Sanji don't fight, your captain needs you! And yes Nami, there will be some beli involved, but I'm really not sure if you will like the way that happens. O.O Please don't kill me!

**RobinLynnSpade: **I know! I should've never made them touch his hat, that is unforgivable. :( Also I didn't get to write any fun, clueless Luffy here… Darn it! :D

In this chapter it seems the Straw Hats are doing nothing at all! What is up with that? Hopefully we will find out in the next chapter. O.O

**Fi Suki Saki: **To bury Genzo alive under the sea sounds like a good plan to me! Sanji will definitely have some trouble making sure Luffy can eat well again after this. Horrible! .

And I agree, I also hate Luffy bashing stories! He wouldn't do that. :( At least not on purpose. And I blame the crew too, especially in this chapter! What on earth do they think they are doing! If they don't get to Luffy soon, I will have to bury THEM alive under the sea… Fuhuhu…

And yes, the misunderstanding in the previous chapter was intentional. :D I had you all fooled! (Maybe I should tone down the power speech a little).

Thank you for your review, I read them all carefully and appreciate every single one, whether they are good or bad. ^-^

**Neko11: **I laughed at Luffy's outburst too… It still makes me laugh. x) Maybe I'm just tired. :P But I do want to write more happy Luffy, yet this seems like a pretty dark story. O.o I am contradicting myself.

And that darn Genzo, he will definitely get what he deserves if I have any say in it!

Thank you for reviewing, hope you liked the new chapter. ^-^

**FlightWulf: **Oh dear! Two looooong reviews… O.O I love it! ^-^

I know the Straw Hats turned out to be pretty violent, huh… Maybe you shouldn't mess with them! I really think this is how they would react if Luffy was really in danger. The few times he has been in a life threatening situation there wasn't much the others could do. But if they are ready to die for him, they will also kill for him! At least that didn't happen here. ^-^ And who knows, maybe they were just playing the bartender. O.o I love badass Straw Hats too!

POSITIVE STUFF! (Hopefully you read the chapter before this, because it's spoiler time if you didn't! :D) It looks like Luffy won't be raped… maybe? Possibly? Just killed… You know 'cause that is so positive… Forget I said anything.

Nooooow, to the other review… :D

I promise Genzo will suffer in one way or another! Please don't send me angry letters! . And NO! The way YOU describe Luffy being shot makes me sad! :D Not that it didn't originally, but really, now I'm more worried about that damn kairouseki than any bleeding.

Love the Dr Seuss reference there. x) I am almost ashamed to say I know the Cat in the Hat by heart… We made it in to a play with my host kids… I was the cat. :P So much fun I have on a daily basis. Good thing I love my job!

Alright, I gotta be done again before I start babbling complete nonsense. :) Thank you so much for the reviews again, I almost want to tell you NO when it comes for betaing 'cause I don't want to lose a good reviewer! :D

**Tebolizer: **Thanks for the review, especially for noticing that typo! I sometimes have trouble with words that sound or look almost the same. :D Especially 'meet' and 'meat'. English is a weird language, whereas my native language is not… (Says the girl who has trouble forming Finnish sentences). .

Anyway! I love Straw Hats when they get serious, they should do that more often. Not that I don't care for the silliness any less. ^-^ If you like pirate-like Straw Hats, maybe the next chapter is one for you. ;)

Also, I guess I'm describing the pain more in detail here, hopefully you are in the mood this time. :D Honestly I don't like writing painful/torture scenes much, but I do like to read them. I just feel so bad since I have the power of making it better. :P

**GomoNoJutsu: **Yaharoo! Thank you for your review! In this chapter we still didn't find out who wants to buy Luffy, but we kind of found out why. And I am planning for something epic, we'll see how well that will turn out. :D

**LU: **Good! Hate him, hate him! That is the whole idea. Maybe if we all hate him enough he will just magically disappear… O.O

**OnepieceFan: **Right! Poor Luffy… even more so in this chapter. I'm sure he'll get a break soon, there is only so much that can happen to one person in two days!

Also, this one is the longest chapter so far! And I'm pretty sure the future chapters are too. ;)

**sunnyday: **I do listen to you! I am very excited to read about anything the readers think. I actually have a lot of different plans for this story, now I have to decide which way to go, so readers' opinions are helpful. :D

It will definitely be something glorious and epic! I love those scenes where the Straw Hats are total bad asses and show the world they won't be stopped easily, rookies or not. ;)


	7. Chapter 7 -The Pirate That Should Not Be

**When Luffy Went A Little Too Far – Chapter 7**

**First of all, I apologize for the delay. I have a good excuse! Or so I think. :D I'm not gonna go into detail, but we were robbed and craziness happened.**

**Also I'm sad to tell you that I won't be able to update every week until the end of July. I only have 2 more weeks left as an au pair, so I'm spending most of my free time with my host family. Then I'll be travelling for a month, so I'll just enjoy that while I can. BUT! Then I will be back in boring boring Finland, and I'll have nothing but time to escape into my story world eeeevery day. :D**

**Other good news is that I have a beta now! Let's all thank FlightWulf for making your reading experience that much greater! (All the previous chapters have been betad and updated too.)**

**The name of this chapter comes from the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie soundtrack. It has the perfect sound and name for this chapter too. ;) **

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**Chapter 7 – The Pirate That Should Not Be**

With the Straw Hat crew, on the Thousand Sunny...

"NO, YOU CANNOT GO! How many times do I have to tell you, you're way too obvious! There's no way to make you _not_ look like you! How many living skeletons do you think there are around here!? And the same goes for you, Chopper! The only talking reindeer people've ever even heard of is you, and we can't be found out!" Nami was quickly losing her patience with her complaining and whining crew mates. She had taken charge of transforming everyone and handing out jobs according to her plan, but so far most of them were unhappy with their parts.

"But Namiiiii! I wanna help too!" Chopper groaned. He really wanted to wear one of those fun looking costumes that Nami was carrying, it wasn't fair that everybody else got to dress up!

"But Doctor-san, you are helping. Making sure Sunny is safe and ready to go is very important right now. And what would we do if our amazing doctor got hurt when we needed him? We're counting on you to make sure Captain-san is alright when we get him back." Robin was smiling kindly at the little reindeer who blushed and started dancing happily.

"You bastard! Praising me won't make me happy at all, idiot!"

Nami sighed in relief and gave a thankful smile to the older woman. She just didn't have the same kind of patience as Robin.

"Okay, now that we've gotten that all figured out, let's go through this one more time, and I need all of you airheads to listen carefully, because anyone who asks me any questions after this owes me 10,000 beli!"

"Haaaaaai, Nami-swaaaaan! You're so beautiful when you give out orders! Tell me anything and I'll do it!" Sanji was twirling around and was completely ignorant to the annoyed look was receiving from the object of his affections. He did, however, notice that Zoro was staring at him sternly as he growled "Sit".

Sanji stopped in his tracks and got up in the sword man's face.

"What'd you say, you shitty marimo?"

"I thought you were taking orders. So sit."

"I'm not a freaking dog, and who the hell ever said I would listen to anything you have to say!?"

"You sure act like a dog, being a bitch and all."

"You wanna fight, you moss-headed freak?"

"What the hell did you just call me, you damn swirly brow?"

"You heard me, you-" BAM! BAM!

"I said I needed you all to LISTEN!" Nami was seriously starting to lose her patience. Didn't they care at all that Luffy was missing? They were wasting time!

"Nami-san, give them a break. They're just worried and frustrated, and this is their way of dealing with it. Yohohoho! And speaking of worrying, it would ease mine greatly if you would be so kind as to show me your panti-" BAM!

"Just when I thought you were actually saying something sensitive..." Nami muttered and turned away from the skeleton now laughing on the floor.

"As I was saying, the plan. Franky, Brook, and Chopper are all going to stay on Sunny and move her away from the port to the South of this island right here," she said, pointing to a rough map of the island she had quickly drawn.

"This is to make sure Sunny is safe, since there are more than enough pirates here, and therefore it is not at all unlikely that marines will stop by as well. Also, the spot I chose is easy to access from the parts of the town where the rest of us are going, so if we find out Luffy has already been taken away from the island, we won't be losing any time." She looked at everybody to make sure they were all following so far.

They all nodded and she went on.

"Zoro and I will go out as regular pirates, in disguise of course. We will find the lowest lot on this island and get them drunk, hopefully winning some money in a game of… I mean making them talk." Nami cursed herself for the slip, but she couldn't help it. Having Zoro with her as a bodyguard was just the perfect opportunity to fool some of the stronger pirates who had already gotten their hands on the riches of the New World.

"The information we want is where the shady business happens in this town, and I'm not talking about pirates or thieves. I mean the big money, where the nobles and other rich scum go to make their deals. Once we find out, we will inform Sanji, Robin and Usopp who will be taking care of the rest. Sanji and Robin will play the part of a rich couple who are in the market for a slave. Usopp will be their financial advisor. Also, just to be sure they have credibility, they'll be carrying most of our money with them…" Nami began was silently crying, looking at the money case longingly.

"They better make sure we don't lose even one beli!" She added and Usopp nodded furiously, clutching the case to his chest.

"The minute we figure out where and how Genzo does his trades, we will all meet at the Sunny and hopefully be on our way to get our Captain back." They all felt their spirits lift, getting a little confidence from the navigator' words. As long as the plan worked, they should be on their way to where Luffy was in no time.

"Okay, good luck everybody, and make sure you follow the plan!" Franky, Chopper and Brook started to prepare Sunny for departure as Nami handed out the costumes she had picked for everybody else.

"Here, put these on and then let's go." Nami and Robin headed to the women's quarters upstairs as the boys entered their room right next to the stairs.

Once they were done and stepped out, it would've been almost impossible to tell who they were. Usopp was grinning happily, thinking his new get up was pretty cool, even though it was also completely absurd. Robin was smiling at Nami, thanking her for the great job, whereas Sanji was staring at the two women with hearts in his eyes. The only one who was unhappy with his disguise was Zoro.

"The hell is up with this hair? And these shoes and shirt are ridiculous!" Zoro was in vain trying to swat the bothering strands of hair out of his face.

"I think you look a lot better now. Maybe you should keep this style." Sanji commented to which the swordsman answered with a growl.

"Most pirates look ridiculous. Do you remember Buggy?" Nami said off handedly as she checked her own appearance one last time.

"Just cuz' that idiot wants to look like a clown doesn't mean I have to! At least give me my swords back!" Nami looked at him dramatically and rolled her eyes.

"Even you should realize that using three swords is your most recognizable trait. Just be glad I let you keep that one." Zoro glared at her again, feeling naked with only one sword.

"Alright, it's getting dark, time to go." Franky, Brook and Chopper waved byes to their retreating friends before setting off and sailing to the distance.

Zoro and Sanji both stayed behind a little, making sure that Sunny got away from the shore safely. While on the ship, they had both sensed somebody hiding behind the rocks on the shore, but it looked like they were good for now, the presence had faded just before they went in to put their costumes on. The two pirates caught each other's eyes as they turned back to face the front, and shared a knowing look before parting to go with their own group.

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With Nami and Zoro, in the bad part of Hinanjyo town called 'The Dumb'...

This part of town really was rough. It started only a block from the main street, a curving side street that held bars and taverns, casinos and some other places Nami didn't want to acknowledge. Looking to the South from here, all she could see were run down houses, dirty streets, suspicious looking people, and dark alleys. In other words, this was exactly where they wanted to be.

Nami was, for once, actually feeling pretty confident instead of scared despite the situation. She knew for a fact that she looked dangerous, intimidating even. The shoulder length brown wig adorning her head was one she had always wanted to try after she bought it back in Alabasta to use as a disguise, but she had never gotten the chance. The light grey contact lenses made her eyes look piercing, and the bandana covering half of her face as well as the fake piercings gave her a needed 'tough pirate' look. She walked on with her back straight and an excited flutter in her stomach.

Zoro, on the other hand, was bored and uninterested. He knew this was supposed to help them get closer to Luffy, but he didn't see the point of all of this work. In his opinion, the easiest way of dealing with the situation was to find someone and threaten the information out of them, just like they had done with that old bartender. But apparently this was a '_delicate situation where one wrong move could make them lose Luffy forever_'. But that didn't mean he had to like it. And the ridiculous wig Nami had made him wear was seriously getting in the way! The long white strands were getting tangled around his arms as he walked since he was not used to having them there. And the bangs that covered his eyes made it really hard to see. He already had one bad eye, he didn't need some stupid wig on his face to make seeing that much harder!

But, as unhappy as he was with his own current appearance, he did admit that the navigator who was walking in front of him looked a hell of a lot scarier than usual. That, added to her naturally quick temper and confident nature, made Zoro think that he wasn't really needed here after all. But still, there were some strong people here, he could sense it, so he went with the plan, not wanting his friend to get hurt if things went wrong.

As they walked by the many signs and doors, Nami kept her eyes wide open. She wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for, but she hoped she would know it once she saw it. Luckily most people seemed to avoid the two, so they could easily make their way through the crowded streets.

They had been walking around for roughly three hours, visiting a few bars quickly, just having a drink or two and checking the place out before moving on, when a voice suddenly caught their attention.

"Miss, you look like a woman who enjoys a good game of poker. Why don't you come in and try our restaurant, we have some high bets going on tonight." It was a sleazy looking, tiny man who was standing next to the entrance of a fairly large looking restaurant that seemed popular, too. Nami tried to decide whether this would be it, but then again, at this point anything was worth trying, since they'd had no luck so far.

"Huh?! Who you think you're talking to? I'm not interested in your second-rate games and pocket change, what I'm looking for is a lot bigger than a few belies." Zoro glanced over at his companion in surprise. Had he been anyone else, he would've flinched like the smaller man had. Nami's voice was so cold and the way she looked at the man down her nose was so unlike her that for a moment Zoro thought that maybe he had accidentally followed the wrong person.

"I- I see… Well, uh, Miss… I-I mean My Lady, I'm happy to let you know that we offer more than just a measly game of poker. Whatever it is you are looking for, I'm sure you'll find we are more than willing to help you with it. And we have some special guests here, so I can assure you the bets are extremely high tonight." The man was bowing lightly and grinning in what he probably thought was a charming manner, but just made him look like a mouse.

Nami felt like jumping in excitement, knowing that they'd just hit the jackpot. This seemed to be the place where everybody came tonight, so this was where they needed to be, too.

"Ooh? You think so? Well, I don't usually deal with little roaches like yourself, but I guess I can give you a chance. Just know that if I'm not satisfied with your offers, I won't be responsible for what might happen to you." Nami snorted before gesturing to Zoro, who swallowed his pride and slowly licked the blade of the curvy knife Nami had insisted he should carry with him. The little man looked at them wide eyed, but obviously he was used to dealing with dangerous people, because he just swallowed and kept on smiling in that rodent-like manner of his.

"Well then, Miss, why don't I show you to your table?" He was starting to step inside to lead the way, but Nami quickly stepped up, taking the man by his shoulder and pushing him back.

"You think I'm just some spoiled rich bitch? I can find my own way. And it's Captain Mirabel-sama to you, you little rat." With that, she strode in the restaurant looking like she owned the place. Zoro just chuckled lowly and followed his friend.

Nami had never felt like belonging somewhere less. The place looked rather nice, everything was made out of dark wood, barrels were used as tables and the dim light came from flickering torches. The first floor seemed to be for gambling and games, whereas the deck that worked as a second floor just had tables for eating and a bar. The navigator could have enjoyed such cozy looking place if it wasn't for the people. It almost looked like a gathering of zoo animals. All sorts of people, from scary to outright ridiculous, all yelling, dancing, fighting and just in general making a mess and being rowdy. Some of the barrels were broken on the floor, apparently it was a game: each barrel had beer in it, and if you broke one, you had to drink it. Of the floor. Nami actually saw someone on their knees on the floor, licking the alcohol and falling over in it while laughing like crazy.

Right in the middle of the floor there was someone lying in their own blood, obviously not breathing. Nami's every instinct told her to run, the nauseous feeling almost too overwhelming to bear. Even Zoro furrowed his brow in disgust; he might be a pirate and a heavy drinker too, but he would never dream of drinking off the floor next to dead guy. That was just wrong in so many ways. But they both knew they had no choice, this was for Luffy's sake after all.

So Nami gathered every ounce of endurance she had, and calmly walk over the dead man lying on the floor, heading slowly to the stairs that led to the floor above. She heard the footsteps of Zoro following her, feeling comforted by the fact that she wasn't alone in this craziness.

Suddenly, someone roughly grabbed her by the waist and she was pulled to a firm, muscular chest, the smell of alcohol and nicotine overtaking her senses. She wanted to let out a yelp, but somehow held it in; it wouldn't go with her current character, after all.

"Hey, heyyy, pretty lady pirate here guys! Don't you think she should join us? Zhihehehe." Nami looked up at the bearded face, cloudy eyes and red cheeks. The man was obviously drunk off his ass. 'Good,' she thought, as she gestured for Zoro to stay back when she saw him reaching for his sword, letting him know that she could handle this.

"Huuuh? Who exactly is supposed to join your sorry asses?" She looked at the man with as much hatred as she could muster, which wasn't all that hard since she hated most pirates anyway.

"Oh, come on missy, let's have a little fun!" The man was now reaching his other hand somewhere behind the brunette (wig, remember!) woman, but was stopped quickly as Nami used the man's slowed reactions to overpower him. She gripped the man's wrist, spun around under his arm and pulled out the knife she had hidden in her boot. With one strong movement she swung the knife down, plunging it into the hand she had pinned to the table. It took the man a few seconds to process what had happened, but when his mind finally registered it, he let out an agonized scream. Once again, Nami used the man's weakened state and quickly took the gun that someone had left on the table, pressing the barrel to the crook under the man's chin. Still holding onto the wrist of the hand that was now bleeding slowly, Nami leant in and snarled in the man's ear:

"It's Captain Mirabel-sama, you bastard!" The man's eyes widened a little at the name, and he glanced at his friend who also looked at Nami with wide eyes. With no further due, the woman turned and walked to the stairs without so much as a second glance

Zoro stared in amazement. He had never seen Nami act so violent. Sure, he knew she could fight and did what she had to do, but it was a completely different story to witness it like all honesty, he was rather impressed. Not that he doubted the navigator's strength, he himself had gotten more than his fair share of punches on the head from the witch to prove she was no weakling. Still, he had been a bit worried when the bastard started groping her. 'Huh, guess I don't have to worry, then,' he thought and followed after Nami, who was already halfway up the stairs.

Said woman couldn't've been happier, as shaken as she was by her encounter just now. Their plan was working well so far. They'd known from the start that no matter how convincingly they dressed up, they would have no credibility if no one knew who they were. So, in every bar they had visited during the night, they'd made sure they mentioned Nami's fake name to a few people here and there. Even though no one would recognize that name from before, by now they had spread it to enough people who were completely drunk that they wouldn't remember where they heard the name, just that they had. She knew that the longer they took, the bigger the chance that somebody would realize that there actually was no pirate called Mirabel. But at least everything seemed to be going smoothly for now. The proof for that waited for them on the second floor where Nami could see a familiar face to her left. It was a guy she had talked to in the first bar they had gone to, and he was pointing at her and whispering furiously to his companion.

A confident smile danced on Nami's lips as she remembered that particular meeting. The guy had challenge her to a quick game of poker that she had won. It was quick, because 5 minutes into the game Nami had noticed that the man was cheating, and she had won because she threaten the guy with Zoro who ended up giving all of his money to them.

As soon as she sat down at an empty table, the mousey-looking man from the door was beside her, bowing deeply.

"Captain Mirabel-sama, what can I get for you and… ummm… your companion to drink? He threw a scared look at Zoro who sat down while he was talking.

"Huh, if it isn't the little Mousey. You should know a sake drinker when you see one!" She spat at him, crossing her legs and turning her head to look the other way.

"Right, right! Of course, how silly of me. I will have one of our waitresses bring you some, for free of course, Captain Mirabel-sama." He bowed even deeper before disappearing in the crowd.

Nami finally let herself shudder, looking around the place once again.

"Gosh, I really need that sake just to be able to stay here any longer. These people are animals." She was looking at the next table were a guy was putting his hand up a waitresses' skirt. She quickly looked away and noticed the few droplets of blood on her left hand. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. The sound of the knife piercing the man's hand haunted her thoughts. She wasn't used to stuff like this, it just wasn't her. But she was pretty sure that the man had deserved it, and in the end it was just a little scratch compared to what Zoro might have done if she had let him.

"Hmph, not like we have a choice. But it looks like we're finally in the right place." Zoro was also scanning the room and wondering who all these people were. He didn't recognize any of them, so nobody here was too famous, at least..

After a while a waitress came by with their drinks. They both downed them quickly before separating into the mass of people. Nami headed back downstairs and joined a game of pool in a corner that was a bit calmer than the rest of the place. Zoro made a beeline for the bar and took a seat there.

As Nami was well on her way to winning her second game, she finally heard something that caught her attention. The two men at the next pool table were talking about The Pearl of Hinanjyo, which was what the the better part of the town was called, with dreamy looks on their faces.

"I heard they 'ahve a chocolate fountain at every table and candlers... chandealers.. ya' know, those big lamp things made of diamonds, in ev'ry room in thosssse restaurants. And the whole neighborhooood… Neighbourm… the… the place was named after the streets which are made of pearrrlsss. Man, I wisssh I could go to a place like that once. And the women. Have you seen 'em? They're like fuckin' walking jewels 'emselves!" His friend laughed at this and patted the other's shoulder.

"Yeah, those women wouldn't even touch you with a 30 foot pole if you paid 'em! Like hell you'll ever get to go anywhere near that place! Hahaha!" They both laughed loudly, downing their drinks and swaying a bit.

"I know, I know! Ther'sh one way for anyone to go there, tho! I heard the moussshy lookin' guy from the door talking to this annoying guy ovre… I mean over there... *hick*…Hahaha. Said that Genzo works 'round here. Hahaha." The guy who was talking didn't seem bothered by this, but his friend lost a little bit of the red glow from his face.

"You mean… that Genzo? Shit, I wouldn't wanna cross that guy. Chocolate fountains or not, I'd rather die not knowing what a place like that really looks like then go in there as a slave. Have you heard what those people make em' do? I've seen em' force their slaves carry em' around on their backs. Just imagine the weight of a lady who had nothing but time and money to eat, and on top of that, she would be dressed in some glimmering rocks… Hahahahah!" Both of them seemed to think this was a very funny thought as they both fell over and stayed on the floor, laughing all the while. But Nami had heard enough.

She quickly excused herself from the game, saying she needed to find her companion who had more money on him. But instead of actually finding Zoro, she looked for a much smaller figure. It didn't take too long for her to spot the rodent-like man standing next to the door again. She strode over to him as quickly a she could and swiftly pulled the man outside. The streets were a little emptier now, the chilly night air forcing most to take refuge inside the bars and restaurants.

Nami stared at the little man in front of her and wondered what would be the best way to bring up the subject.

"I hear you're well informed. Maybe you could help me with something?" She tried to look calm and uncaring, which was proving difficult as her heart felt as if it was going to pound it's way out of her chest in excitement.

"Why, yes, you've heard right, Captain Mirabel-sama. And I hear you have quite the reputation of causing trouble." Mousey was looking oddly confident, but Nami brushed it off in her haste.

"Then you should know that it's not a good idea to anger me. Now, can you help me or not?!"

She gave the man a little shove to make sure he understood she wasn't kidding around.

"Depends. What is it you need to know?" The navigator was getting chills from this man's voice. It was the definition of creepy.

"Genzo." 'That should do it,' she thought, and as if on cue, Mousey paled and started shivering. He looked to their left and right, quickly scanning the area and making sure no one could overhear them.

"Ah… Ma'am, I strongly advise you stay out of that man's business. Surely you know how dangerous he is?" Mousey had lowered his voice to a barely audible whisper and kept on glancing every which way.

"Yes, I'm well aware. But he's taken something very important to me, and I'm awfully possessive of my things, so don't like it when other people touch my stuff. Now, you can either start talking or I can make sure I mention your name when I finally find Genzo." The man's eyes widened at the threat and he reached out to pull Nami a little further away from the door.

"Fine. But you didn't hear this from me!" He looked at her pointedly and she nodded in agreement.

"Genzo doesn't really work in this part of the town. All he wants from us is to keep our mouths shut and share information with him when needed. He wants to know if any big bounties or other good catch comes around. Every now and then he comes by to recruit more men, looking for those who are ready to do anything to make money and aren't shy of little gore. Violent, horrible people, those who go with him. But if you do want to find him, in this town he does most of his business in the next neighborhood. There is a spa hotel in The Pearl of Hinanjyo, that's the neighborhood, called 'Hinanjyo' after the island. That's where he makes his deals. But you won't be getting in there, no offense. They won't even let you in any part of The Pearl. That place is gated and guarded, the rich folk don't want any trash from 'The Dumb' in their midst."

Nami looked at the man carefully and decided he was telling the truth, but she still needed more information.

"Good so far. Now, I assume you know most of Genzo's moves since you're so well informed. What's the latest word?" She gave yet another push as the man looked hesitant.

"Big catch, a big catch he has now! They say he's even captured the infamous Straw Hat Luffy! Hard to believe though, even if most of the things said about him are true…"

"WHAT ELSE!?" Nami interrupted him. All of this she knew already.

"The-the Barbarian! They say he has the Barbarian. And a woman of Amazon Lily! Now please, Captain Mirabel-sama, that is all I know, I swear!" The man was cowering, but a smile was spreading across his face slowly.

Just as Nami was about to answer, she heard footsteps behind her. Quickly she turned to see two employees of the bar walking towards her and mousey.

"And now, Captain Mirabel-sama," Mousey spat out the honorific. "I'm sorry to tell you that we need you to leave our restaurant. Whatever business you've got with Genzo, we don't wanna be involved with." Nami now understood why the man had suddenly seemed a bit more confident. He must've known the bodyguards were on their way.

She had no problem leaving now, she'd gotten what she came for and wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible. There was one problem, though; Zoro!

Without a second of hesitation, Nami sprinted between the two huge guards, taking advantage of the element of surprise as she pulled open the door and stepped back into the restaurant. She'd seen Zoro walk to the bar upstairs, and she was pretty sure that's where she would find the swordsman still sitting and drinking sake.

The moment she laid her eyes on the long wig she recognized as the Straw Hats' first mate, she gripped his arm, pulling him along without any other explanation than: "Time to go."

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With Sanji, Robin and Usopp, in The Pearl of Hinanjyo...

"That was Nami, they've got the name of the place, let's go." Usopp whispered to Robin and Sanji as he returned to the table they were occupying.

The trio had chosen a fancy cafe to sit at and have a few drinks in while they waited for the information of their final destination. Sanji was having a hard time acting cool when every fiber of his body wanted to swoon over the sight that was his precious Robin-chwan. The older woman was wearing a dazzling dark blue gown and a short blonde wig. Her natural tan was hidden under a layer of makeup that Nami had professionally applied. The archaeologist might not've looked like herself at all, but she was still gorgeous anyway.

Sanji himself was just wearing a white suit and a hat to covered his signature eyebrows. Nami had insisted on switching the cigarettes into some fancier and "unreasonably expensive so don't you dare smoke them all!" cigars. The cook didn't mind since it was Nami-swan who had asked him, but he had to admit that the taste was sour and overall just plain wrong.

Usopp looked like a ridiculously colorful body guard, with a neon green suit and a pink fedora, topped with a pair of bright yellow sunglasses. But Nami had insisted that this was what some of the rich people wore, and, as usual, she'd been right. The whole cafe looked like a rainbow of people in the weirdest clothes (costumes?) they'd ever seen. Apparently they would wear anything as long as the price and brand was of "appropriate quality".

Sanji threw a pile of bills on the table ("This much for coffee!? Nami's gonna kill us!" Usopp groaned) and as soon as they got up, there was a man next to them, ready to escort them out.

"Ah, dear costumers, are you leaving us already? May I ask where your next destination may be? Shall I call you a car, good sir, to save the lady's feet?" The way the man was crouching down and half bowing all the time was a bit disturbing to the three pirates. They were definitely not used to this kind of treatment.

"We are headed to the Hinanjyo Spa. If it's not too far we would actually like to walk, my wife enjoys the views of this beautiful neighborhood." Sanji almost lost it as he called Robin his wife, and earned a surprised look from Usopp as he somehow held it together.

"Ah! An excellent choice, sir. Hinanjyo Spa is known worldwide, and is our main attraction, actually. I shall escort you there myself and make sure they take good care of you, sir!"

The way this man was sucking up to them was absolutely pathetic, but at least they had a sure way to get to where they wanted to go.

Robin took Sanji's arm in hers as they walked ahead towards the entrance, Usopp following right after them and their guide was last, the social status of the whole group very clear for anyone to see.

Walking around 'The Pearl of Hinanjyo', as this part of the town was called, was truly an experience. If it weren't for the people who walked the streets, the three Straw Hat pirates might've even enjoyed their little walked. The buildings were high and the architecture remarkable. It was almost like Fishman Island all over again. Shells and coral decorated the surrounding walls, thousands of soft lights in different colors, creating a dreamy and whimsical atmosphere. They even saw a jewelry shop that looked as if it'd been made out of diamonds. The streets were silvery white and smooth, like millions of pearls melted into one winding path.

But then there were the people. All around them were men and women who walked with their noses in the air, looking like the pearly path was their personal road to heaven where they thought only they belonged. The ridiculous clothes they were all wearing completely ruined the harmonic feel their surroundings were creating. Worst of all were the occasional slaves they would see. It was obviously a rare privilege to have one, though. The few who walked around with a slave on a leash or even worse, having them carry their owners on their backs, were looked at and greeted with respect and admiration. Sanji was secretly hoping he could take one of those stuck up bastards and teach them a lesson or two by making them crawl on the ground with one of the shitty swordsman's weights on their backs.

"Sirs, Ma'am, we have arrived." The unpleasant voice of their escort pulled Usopp, Sanji and Robin out of their dazed wonderings. Robin suddenly realized that the way they had been looking around in amazement might've been a dead giveaway of their true identity. No one else here was giving the surroundings even a second glance, undoubtedly being used to walking in golden rooms throughout their lives. She noticed a couple walking by them, the older lady looking at her with a scrunched up nose and a disapproving look, almost as if she could smell that they were of the so-called "lower class". Robin didn't need to pretend at all to respond with a look that held at least twice the distaste the older lady's had. This apparently was the right thing to do because almost immediately both the woman and her husband's faces softened and they offered the pirates something that might've been an attempt at a smile. Robin couldn't help but shake her head, the way these people thought was completely ridiculous to her.

"What was that about? They don't like you unless you look like you're walking in a pile of trash and the people around you are skunks? What is wrong with this place?" Usopp muttered quietly under his breath. All three of them could agree that they would actually rather walk in a pile of trash than live like these people did.

But one thing was for sure, the building that they were about enter was definitely a sight to behold. It rose higher than any of the surrounding buildings, more than a 100 floors, as their escort had informed them. The sign that stated 'Hinanjyo Spa & Hotel' was lit up with the most beautiful glowing green lights ("real fireflies in there, they replace them every night") and the walls were the most beautiful coral orange color, the uneven surface together with the glowing lights creating an illusion of being underwater. Despite all of this, the group of pirates held back their amazed gasps and instead Robin stated sharply:

"What's the hold up, I'm getting tired. I wonder if this place even has a proper restaurant. The taste of that stuff they called 'coffee' at the other place is still making me nauseous." The archaeologist's face was scrunched in a look of disgust and Sanji was inwardly praising the woman's acting skills.

"Ma'am, I assure you there will be something that will please your taste. This building holds all of nine different restaurants, two of which are on the top, a beautiful garden terrace that overlooks the city, and only this side of course, we would never expose you to the horrendous sight of 'The Dumb' that unfortunately ruins the other parts of this..." Sanji was starting to get the feeling that if they wanted to get anywhere with the crouching man in front of them, he would have to start truly acting according to his disguise.

"Obviously you have not been paying much attention. This gentleman here is our financial advisor, and we brought him here with us for a reason. We heard from a rather reliable source that this is the place to come to when looking to make a certain... Business trade, shall we say." The cook was looking at the other man expectantly, knowing he would catch on quickly.

"Ah, of course, my deepest apologies, sir. This way, if you please." It seemed like the man's demeanor changed completely. He took on a more serious look, and instead of being a suck up, he was just polite and respective. Sanji raised his eyebrows under his hat, wondering if the world was really so messed up that you had to be marketing for a slave to be taken seriously and get some respect.

They were now following the man as he led them to a foyer beyond description. The marble floors and high ceiling with the biggest crystal chandelier they had ever seen was breath taking. They stopped briefly at the front desk where their guide whispered something to the receptionist. Then he turned to look at the pirates in disguise and bowed deeply.

"This is where I must part with you, but this lady here will take good care if you, sir." Sanji knew what was expected of him and pulled out yet another impressive stack of bills from inside his jacket. He handed it to the man whose eyes lit up in greedy excitement as he glanced at the receptionist with a meaningful look. Apparently this was a way to test the trio to make them sure of their credibility.

"Thank you, sir. Your generosity is beyond my deserving." And then he was gone.

The receptionist waved at someone to come and take her place at the desk and then smiled at her new charges.

"We are delighted to have you as our visitors. If I understand correctly, you are looking to use our VIP services. My colleague here is currently signing you up for two separate rooms in the West wing, with a city view, of course. I imagine you are about ready for dinner so I shall escort you to our best restaurant up on the Garden Terrace. That is also the place where you can take full advantage of all of our services. Now, if you would be so kind as to follow me, please."

They all filed into a grand, golden elevator before it shot up with impressive speed. The floor numbers flashed by as they rose higher and higher, and soon an echoing *cling!* announced that they had arrived at their destination. Usopp glanced at the floor number and his eyes widened at the red '124' that was displayed on the screen. This was definitely the highest building he'd ever been to, no doubt.

Once the doors opened, they found themselves standing in a magical garden. Dark green vines rose up the pillars that supported the frame that most likely was to provide a shade during the day. It was currently lit up with lights that shone on the flowers that hung around them. To their right, they could clearly see The Pearl of Hinanjyo in all of it's glory, resembling an underwater sheet of stars.

"What do you think, sir, ma'am? Quite impressive, isn't it?" The receptionist asked with a smile.

Robin looked at her down her nose and humph'ed, while Sanji gave the uninterested answer of, "It'll do."

They were led to a table right on the edge of the terrace, providing them with a full view of the city. Only two other tables in this part of the roof were occupied. Glancing at them, it was obvious that some sort of business meeting was occurring within them.

"I'll be right back with our specialty drinks and your VIP contact for the night." The receptionist bowed and scurried away.

"Well, you definitely don't see something like this everyday." Usopp sighed as he let his gaze rest on the shining light far below them.

"You are quite right, Sniper-san. It's hard to believe they've managed to build a hotel like this. Then again, with the kind of customers they receive, I assume the construction of this site paid itself off quite some time ago. For curiosity's sake, I wonder how much it would cost to stay in a place like this…" Robin had a dreamy look in her eyes as she said this. It wasn't often the other Straw Hats got to witness her like this, as most of the time the only things that had her excited were ruins or other historical stuff that the others didn't quite understand.

Sanji was humming in agreement, lighting another cigar. It was only his second tonight, Nami's warning of wasting money clearly ringing in his ears.

"My guess is that it's more than we could barely afford at the moment, even with all the money we have. Honestly, I feel more and more uneasy with every penny we spend, just in case we need the money to buy Luffy back. Though, personally I'll stop at nothing to kick that bastard Genzo's ass to hell and back, just so I can kick it back again!" Sanji's cigar was burning at an alarming rate as he gritted his teeth in anger.

"Worst case scenario, he's already been sold off and is currently being used as a mere toy for someone's entertainment." Usopp jumped a bit and looked at Robin with scared eyes.

"Don't just say things like that with a serious face, Robin!" The sniper screamed in panic. The woman across from him just smiled pleasantly, resulting in a lengthy rant from the sniper about things that were inappropriate to say out loud.

The cook sitting on the side couldn't help but smile. Even though what Robin had said would've been registered as horrible to any outsider, he knew it was actually her way of making the situation a little lighter. This was their norm, a routine. It felt familiar and reassuring in all this madness that the past few days had been.

They were all interrupted when the receptionist from earlier returned with a waitress and an official looking woman right behind her.

"I hope you are enjoying yourselves, dear customers. Here are your drinks and your waitress for tonight. She will be coming back in a bit to take your order. And this is Satoshi Kurumi-san, she will be your official business contact on this island from now on. If you'll excuse me, I will be making sure your room is ready for you." Bowing once more, the woman was proceeded to take her leave along with the waitress who had silently put their drinks down.

The third woman of the group was looking at them with a tight smile and a strange twinkle in her eyes behind the weirdly shaped, light blue glasses she wore. Like most people around here, she was wearing a ridiculous outfit that consisted of more colors that any of them (except maybe Robin) could even name.

"It is a pleasure, sir, ma'am. I am always delighted to have new business partners. Now, I assume you've had a long day, so we'll just cut the chase and get right down to it, hmm?" She looked anything but pleased as she said this, judging by her expression. Then again, as they had learned, in these circles that was just a way of being polite.

"Yes, indeed. My clients actually have a very special item in mind that they are interested in." Usopp was taking charge of the conversation, being the financial advisor. The other two pirates were slowly sipping their drinks and looking uninterested, despite the pounding of their hearts.

"In that case you've come to the right place, hmm? I'm sorry to be rude, but I do need some proof of your credibility, hmm?" Usopp was silently thanking Kami-sama for blessing Nami her wit as he pulled out the case filled with money. He opened it just a crack to let the woman see the bills inside. Her eyes flashed with that weird twinkle again as she smiled again, now almost naturally, at Sanji and Robin.

"I see, you've truly prepared for a great investment. Now, what is it exactly that you are looking to invest in, hmm?" Here the disguised sniper thought quickly back to the conversation he'd had with Nami earlier. She had informed him of all the big sellers that Genzo had at the moment, and they had all agreed that asking for Luffy right away would be too obvious, as well as just downright foolish. They knew that there was no way that no-name fake rich people such as themselves could possibly pull off trying to buy Straw Hat Luffy, when most likely the tenryuubito themselves, as well as the World Government were offering crazy amounts of money for the pirate. So he took a deep breath, and went with the plan they had created.

"My clients here have heard that Genzo-san has some rather interesting individuals at the moment." The woman who they knew as Satoshi Kurumi just kept on smiling in that weird way of hers.

"You are well informed. Which individual is it that your clients are looking to pay for, hmm?" she finally stopped addressing Sanji and Robin, realizing that they weren't going to bother dealing with her. Instead she looked Usopp straight in the eyes.

"The word is he has a woman from Amazon Lily. Is there any truth to this claim? It's quite hard to believe in such a rare opportunity." The supposed financial advisor was repeating the exact lines Nami had told him to.

"Indeed, hmm? But I assure you, Genzo-sama always comes through with his promises. Whatever you hear about him, most likely is the truth. So, I assume you want me to contact him for you, hmm?" The woman had taken out a paper and a pen and was quickly writing down something none of them could quite see. Usopp cleared his throat and she quickly stopped.

"Indeed. But my clients would actually rather prefer to deal with him personally. They plan on making future business with him too, you see. So, perhaps you can inform him of our offer and we can meet him in a location of his choice?" All of the three Straw Hats were secretly crossing their fingers for the plan to work.

"Hmm, how very brave of you. Personally, I would stay far away from that man. But it seems you clients are quite serious about becoming regular clients of his, so I will happily agree to your request. Now what would your offer be, hmm?" She was pushing her notepad towards Usopp who scribbled down a number. Her eyes widened slightly as she peered at the number and then turned for confirmation from Sanji, who just glared at her challengingly.

"So, that is our offer. The location?" Now was the moment, they all knew it. They waited in silent excitement as the woman considered them all carefully and then looked at the number on the notepad one more time before answering.

"Very well, I'm sure this will do even for Genzo-sama. Though he often stays here for business, at this time you may reach him in the Wayward Inn on Misto Island." Robin looked at the woman incredulously before commenting: "Misto Island? As in mist? What kind of ridiculous name is that?" Sanji pretended to calm her down before turning to address the lady, Satoshi, directly for the first time.

"We thank you for your business. Now if you please, hurry up and contact Genzo-san for us, we need to be on our way to the bank for a final withdrawal before heading of to Misto Island." The cook quickly stood up and took Robin's arm as he gestured for Usopp to follow them. Before leaving, the sniper left a fake check for the woman and then hurried off after his friends, the thought of finally getting closer to Luffy lifting his mood even higher than the building itself.

**o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o**

**Oh my, that chapter just kept writing itself. :D Over 8,000 words. O.O Oops…. It was surprisingly fun to write some badass Nami and the rest of them too. So, it became a bit long… Once again, I'm sure you don't mind.**

**I actually wrote parts of this all over the place: at the pool, in Leaping Lizards (for those who don't know, it's a jumpy-house place for kids to play in), at the playground, in the zoo… hopefully seeing baby pandas and lion cubs didn't make me too soft. :D I always write on the go these days, feels to me like I can't keep the story in one piece (no pun intended) anymore! But like I said, I luckily have a beta now! So any mistakes I make in my hurry should be fixed. ^-^**

**Alright, I really want to get this chapter out and I once again am running out of time, so I'm going to leave review answers to the next chapter. I'm just quickly gonna say a general thank you and I really appreciate and love the reviews, so don't you dare stop writing them! ;)**


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